The New Vampires
by Bigj200016
Summary: Shortly after the end of Hotel Transylvania 2, Johnathan has become insecure in his relationship with his son. He asks about a radical change. But he finds that his family has more in common with the Draculas than he knew. This is my first long fanfic, so constructive reviews are appreciated. Cover art from NightLiight on deviantart. She does amazing work
1. Johnathan's Home for the Holidays

The events of this story begin shortly after the end of Hotel Transylvania 2, the following Christmas to be exact.

Author's Note: This is my first attempt at a long fanfic. Any constructive criticism is appreciated. More characters will be introduced at a later time. I will attempt to specify when they are introduced if they are original to me, or someone else's. Any reference to anyone else's work that I have not asked first is purely coincidental. Please PM me, and I will be more than happy to rectify the situation either with change to the work, of crediting the originator.

Chapter 1

Johnathan's Home for the Holidays

Johnathan thought that returning to his parents with his family for Christmas make take his mind off the depression he had been feeling ever since that summer. His son, Dennis had grown his fangs, and had seen an increase in his vampire powers ever since his birthday when they sprouted while being attacked by Bela. Since then, Jonathan started to feel like he was being replaced as Dennis' father by his father-in-law, Dracula. He couldn't blame Mavis, his wife, for this since there were so many things that he was unable to teach his boy about being a vampire.

"Honey, what is wrong?" said Linda, his mother, "You look like something is bothering you. Its Christmas and that was always your favorite holiday."

"Nothing, mom" Johnathan replied.

Linda scowled at him. "Don't lie to me. I can tell quicker than your wife when you do. I have more experience than her at telling when something is wrong with you."

"I don't know," Jonathan admitted with a sigh and a frown. This was unusual for Jonathan since he rarely didnt' have a smile on his face. "Ever since Dennis' birthday and his transformation into a vampire like Mavis and Dracula, I seem to be getting pushed out of the way. Dracula seems to be able to teach him way more than I ever could."

"But, honey, you can't be replaced as his father, no matter what. After all he has your hair and fashion sense," Linda said trying to reassure her son with a chuckle. "Besides, have you brought this up to Mavis or Drac?"

"Naw, I don't want to seem whiny. I know it is for his own good, but I don't like the fact that I am getting pushed aside."

Mavis entered the room hearing the conversation, but not knowing exactly what was going on. "Hi, honey," she said as Mavis gave Jonathan a kiss on his right cheek. "How are you today, mom?" trying to include Linda in the conversation as well.

"I'm ok," said Johnny. "Just not seeing a white Christmas is bumming me out."

"Johnny, you live in coastal California," his mother stated. "Seeing a white Christmas is rare here. If you wanted snow, you should have went to Tahoe."

"I know mom." By now he was getting irritated with his mother for not letting it go. "I'm fine honey, just have a lot on my mind right now. Anyway, where is Dennis?"

"He is with your father watching something on television, I think he called it 'hokey'."

"Hockey, honey. Hockey. Dad never could get used to being in warm weather. He was from Minnesota after all."

"Where is 'Minnesota'? Is it near 'Haweewee'?"

"No honey. Hawaii is a chain of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Minnesota is in the center if the United States, on the far northern side."

"Sorry. I'm still trying to get used to being outside Transylvania." Jonathan hugged his wife tightly around her stomach. He still deeply loved her, despite what had been going on with her father in the past few months.

"No problem, honey. I'll be in in a minute; I'd like to see who is playing." Mavis left the room and went back to watching the game on TV with her father-in-law and her son. "I think I'll let it wait until after the holidays and see how I feel about it the beginning of next year, mom"

"Ok, honey. But I wouldn't let if fester too long. That's how small problems become large ones" his mother added, as she played with his disheveled red hair. This was always one of the best ways that Linda knew that she could get Jonathan to feel better, but it didn't work like it normally did. After another few minutes passed Linda asked, "What do you think of Mavis and I going out together tomorrow. I have an appointment at the nail salon, and I'm sure they can fit her in as well."

Jonathan smiled at his mother. Since the fiasco of when his family first met Mavis and found out she was a vampire, Mike and Linda had taken a liking to Mavis, although her father could still have some rough patches. "We can ask her at dinner later. That's great, since that means that I can spend time with Dennis and Dad."

Mike came into the room as Johnny was leaving. "Johnny, the 2nd period just ended. Minnesota is up 2-1 on LA. Figured I'd come in and grab a beer and talk to your mother during intermission."

"Ok dad. By the way, mom thought she'd take Mavis with her to the nail salon tomorrow with her. That would give the Loughran men a chance to hang out." Jonathan laughed at what he had said.

"Good idea, honey. I think I have just the ticket. Disney on Ice is playing at the 'Shark Tank' (SAP Center in San Jose, home to the San Jose Sharks)."

"Mike, what a wonderful idea" Linda added.

Needless to say both Dennis and Mavis were excited by the plans.

"Daddy, I want to see Mickey" Dennis said.

"And I haven't had a manicure in I don't know how long" added Mavis smiling.


	2. The Separate Days

Chapter 2, The Separate Days

The next morning all the Loughrans were excited about their plans for the day. The men, Mike, Johnny, and Dennis were headed to San Jose to see Disney on Ice. Meanwhile, Mavis and Linda were going to get their nails done. "Mom, whatever you do, please don't spill the beans about what I said about Drac" Johnny said. "I don't want her worrying about it, since there isn't much that can be done about it. You two just have a good time getting prettied up."

"We will" Linda added, "and you guys have a good time with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy."

Mavis entered the room with her sunhat and sunglasses ready. "Ok, mom" she said. "I'm ready to go." She turned to Dennis, "Now whatever you do, Dennis, no using your powers. I don't care what happens, you let daddy and Papa Mike take care of it. Ok, honey."

"Yes mommy."

"We don't have to leave for another hour still" Johnny said to his mother. "I really wish that dad would let me drive, but you know how he is."

"I know dear, but try to have a good time."

The ladies left first for the salon. Linda had planned all along to have some alone time with Mavis, and now had something she thought they really needed to talk about, despite the request Johnny had made. During the drive to the salon, Mavis actually broached the subject first. "Mom, I get the idea that something is bothering Johnny, but he is either afraid to talk about it, or doesn't want me to know about it."

"You're right dear. He is afraid that you might take this the wrong way, but he is scared that your father is replacing him with all the vampire stuff. After all, there isn't much that Johnny could add on the subject, but he has always been insecure, especially with women in his life."

"I had a feeling that was it. Dennis has been spending a lot more time with my dad since his powers manifested themselves. I just wish he would have said something to me about it."

"He said that he would try to talk to you and your father when you got home after Christmas. He didn't want me to say anything, but since you brought it up, I think it will be ok. Just please don't tell him."

"Thanks, mom. I'm glad you invited me." However there was something else that Mavis was curious about as well. "Linda, can I ask how you and Mike zinged?"

"What was that honey?"

Mavis didn't realize that non monsters didn't refer to it that way. "The way the two of you fell in love."

"Oh, I'm sorry. We were in college at the University of Minnesota. We met in a history class. I ended up sitting next to him for a whole semester before he finally got up the nerve to ask me out. The truth was that I was smitten with him the moment I saw him. We were married about 2 years after that, and have been together ever since."

The two ladies spent the rest of the day getting manicures and pedicures. Linda went with her normal red nail polish, while Mavis stayed with the black polish.

* * *

The men left shortly after the ladies. "Come on" said Mike, "We can stop on the way and get something to eat. Dennis, what do you feel like?"

This was one of the first times that anyone ever asked Dennis what he wanted to eat, so he was unsure how to answer. Instinctively, his answer was, "Avocados."

"But what do you want the avocados on, my boy" Mike asked. "Would you like a burger, or salad, or anything else."

"I don't know."

Johnny added, "Mavis never asks him what he wants. She always just got it for him. Even here, she still dishes his plate."

"We can go for hamburgers, then" Mike said. "Dennis, you can get any toppings on it you would like."

The men stopped at a Fuddruckers for lunch before heading to the show. Dennis had never seen so many options in his life to put on a sandwich. They ended up putting a little of everything on a plate for him to try. Everything went over pretty well until he tried a Jalapeño. "Owww! It feels like my tongue is on fire" Dennis screamed. He resisted using any of his powers because of what his mom said. He drank almost all of his Coke, and that was enough to cool off his tongue. After that, Johnny removed all the other hot peppers from his plate.

"If you didn't like that, then you definitely won't like these. They are even spicier" Johnny said. Other than that one incident the men's day went very smooth. It was a matinee on a Christmas Eve, so attendance and traffic was light, other than around the shopping centers. Dennis enjoyed seeing all the characters he recognized, and even a few he had to ask his dad about.

Everyone arrived back home about 8:00 PM and they had a few cookies and began to exchange gifts. Linda and Mike had agreed to skip going to Church this year, since they were unsure if their daughter-in-law could even enter one, without having something happen to her. Linda and Mike had gotten their grandson a bunch of movies he had wanted, and some clothes he didn't. About 10:00 Dennis went to sleep, and the adults stayed up a little later.

"Now honey" Johnny said to Mavis, "You may be unaware of the custom in the human world that on Christmas, we exchange gifts with the ones we love, so I do not expect you to have anything for me, but I saw this last night and thought you just had to have it."

Mavis opened the box, and inside was a pair of golden bat shaped earrings. "Oh, Johnny. You shouldn't have. They are so beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you are right now" Johnny answered. "Thanks for making me the luckiest man in the world. Not only do I have a gorgeous wife, but I have a terrific son."

"And don't forget loving parents" Linda added.

"How could I forget you, mom and dad."


	3. A Bizarre Request

Chapter 3, A Bizarre Request

Mavis, Jonathan, and Dennis had been back in Transylvania for about 2 weeks now, and Jonathan was starting to get depressed again. Dracula was spending even more time with Dennis, trying to get him ready to go to Camp Winnepacaca the next summer. He wanted his grandson to be the best vampire in the camp the next year, especially after what happened the previous year.

One day, after Dracula and Dennis had finished training, Jonathan finally built up enough nerve to talk to his father-in-law about what had been bothering him for a while now. "Drac, you got a minute?" He asked tentatively, not sure how much his father-in-law would be willing to tell him.

"Sure, Johnny. Anything for you," Dracula answered smiling. His icy glare had softened much in the previous few years, the result of his grandson's love for both Dracula and Jonathan.

Jonathan took one last deep breath to gather just enough to strength to tell his father-in-law what he had been wondering ever since he realized that Mavis was his zing, even though now his reasoning was different. "Drac, I have been having the feeling for a while that you have been replacing me as Dennis' father. I know that you can teach him a lot about all the vampire stuff, but it's been making me feel bad."

Dracula was looking down at his feet. He had never even considered the possiblity that all the time he was spending with his grandson would affect Jonathan like this since he normally laughed anything off that was bothering him. "Johnny, that was never my intent," Dracula said frowning, the hurt he imagained that his son-in-law feeling affecting his voice as well. "I simply trying to train Denisovich to be the best he can be, and to control himself. I'm not trying to replace you."

"I know," Jonathan sighed, "it's just... like you can help him so much, and I can't. I just want to try and be helpful in the growth of my son. So, I had been thinking about this for a long time." Jonathan paused to take one last deep breath. He had both dreaded and wanted for this moment since he married Mavis. "Is it possible to transform a human into a vampire?"

Dracula sighed, as he suspected that this was going to happen eventually, but he still wasn't quite ready for it. "I knew this day was coming," the old vampire said softly as he placed his right arm around Jonathan's shoulders."

"You did?" Jonathan asked completely surprised at his remark.

"Mavis was supposed to talk to you about this before you two were married."

"I don't remembering that coming up, and I think that I would have," Jonathan said trying to search his memory for any recollection of that conversation, but was drawing a blank.

"She told me that you weren't ready then, but might want to later. Why did you change your mind?"

"I don't remember us talking about it, but now it seems like the only way I'd be able to spend time with my son, learning things that he has to learn as well. And besides, I see the bond that you and Mavis have, and I don't want to lose that with Denis."

"The short answer is yes, it is possible, bu-"

"That's all I wanted to know," Johnathan interrupted.

"Can I finish what I was going to say?" Dracula said annoyed. Johnny thought Dracula was about to smack him, but he simply shook his head.

"Sorry," Johnny replied timidly.

"Yes, it is possible, however it is not as simple as some movies make it seem to be. First, only your zing can make it work. If I were to try, at best, it would have no result. At worst, it could kill you."

"Ok, definitely don't want that" Johnny jokingly replied.

"So you will need to convince Mavis." Dracula thought about the procedure for a moment. It wasn't that it was that dangerous, but it was very personal. "I may have overstated the danger slightly, but it is a very intimate process. I have heard some vampires describe it as more intimate than sex, although I wouldn't know about that since I haven't done it in many centuries."

"Do you mean turning someone or..." but Jonathan couldn't finish his sentence, as Dracula's face was beet red. Jonathan was unsure if it was anger or embarrassment, but either way he didn't dare finish his question.

It took a minute, but Dracula regained his composure. "Well both actually, but I haven't turned anyone in centuries. But getting back on topic, you must have motives that are pure. You must have the desire to go through anything, because the process brings you close to death's door, even if done right. Finally, you and the vampire who bites you must be totally committed. Any hesitation on either of your parts, at best it will be ineffective, at worst, it kills you. Timing is critical in the process. So I must ask, other than your own insecurity, what is the reason you are even contemplating such an action?"

"Well you got my central one. But I have been thinking about something else. Mavis is 126, and I'm 30. She has, well I can't even guess how many years to live, and I have at best, another 70. I'm afraid that I will not see enough of my son grow up. I may not see him get married, or give me any grandkids."

"You need to come and talk to me when you are certain of this request. I can tell Mavis how it needs to be done, but until you are at the point that your first reason isn't even a factor you are not ready. The last one you gave me, is the best reason. As far as getting you more time to interact with your son during his training, I do not have an issue with that. You can come anytime. Do you want me to relay any of this to Mavis, or would you like to tell her yourself?"

Just then to Johnny's horror, Mavis can outside to check on Dennis. When she didn't see Dennis, she was nervous about what they could have been discussing, as she caught bits of their conversation. "What did I catch you two talking about?" she snapped at them.

"Nothing. Nothing at all," Jonathan tried to lie to his wife, even though he knew better.

"Just talking about Denisovich's training," Dracula tried to cover for his son-in-law.

"I don't believe you. Either of you!" she snarled exposing her fangs, displaying her 'monster face'. "Daddy, can I please talk to my husband. Alone!" Dracula immediately turned into a bat and got out of there. "Johnny, please don't lie to me," she returned to her normal caring tone, "I know what has been bothering you."

"You do?" He said puzzled, while thinking what a coward his father-in-law was.

"Yeah, your mom filled me in at the nail salon."

"I specifically asked her not to say anything," he uttered almost under his breath, but Mavis heard his remark.

"Don't be mad at her. She wants exactly what I want, and that's for you to be happy. Anyway, I kind of guessed what it was anyway."

"You did?"

"Johnny, I'm your wife. I know when something is bothering you. It just takes me some time to figure out what exactly it is."

"Well, since you know what it is I'll get it off my chest, and I mean all of it. I've been slightly resentful of the amount of time your father has been spending with Dennis. I feel like—"

Mavis interrupted, "But honey, he is only trying to help him better harness his powers."

Johnny gave Mavis a dirty look. "Please let me finsh." Mavis looked guilty about what she had said. "I feel like I'm becoming more distant to him since his powers manifested themselves. As far as your father helping, I know he is trying to help him, but it is hurting me. I feel like I should be honest with you, so I will. There was a part of me that wanted to see Dennis' birthday pass without him gaining his powers. But I knew that was selfish of me, so every time I started to think that I did whatever to get that thought out of my head. I was also conflicted, since you wanted to move away from here if he didn't get his powers, but I wanted to stay regardless."

"Oh, honey. I never thought about what you wanted during this. I only thought of Dennis' safety."

"I know that, Mavy, and that's why I never brought it up to you. The truth is that I didn't want to move back. That is why I started to explore the world. Santa Cruz is boring. There is always something new and different here going on. But I don't want to lie to you anymore. The truth is that I was talking to your father about being more involved with his training. He said that he only wants the best for Dennis, which is what we all want, but with me being human there is little I can assist with, except being a guinea pig, which I don't think Dennis would go along with anyway. When he said that, there was only one other alternative for me to seek."

"Please tell me you didn't ask what I think you did?" Mavis now almost sounded more scared than angry.

"I asked him if it was possible to turn a human into a vampire" he answered.

Mavis thought back to what her sister-in-law had sworn her to secrecy on; it might not be necessary to turn him. She couldn't tell him why, so she had to lie to him. "Oh, I was afraid it was something else. Well, what was his answer?"

"It is, but it would have to be you who did it to me. It has to be your zing. But even still it is dangerous. He told me my reasons were backwards right now. Until I have them in the correct order, I couldn't even ask you about it.

"Johnny, I don't know about this."

"I don't either, but we can cross that bridge when we get there. There's one other thing, honey."

"What's that, Johnny?"

"Your father said that we discussed this before I proposed, but I don't remember us talking about it."

"I'm sorry, honey. I lied to him." A guilty look came over Mavis. "I couldn't commit myself to it, no matter what you said."

"Why didn't you just tell me that then?"

"Because I thought you would want to, but I didn't know if I could do it right."

Jonathan now had a guilty look on his face. "I wouldn't have put you in that position. If you didn't think you could have done it, I wouldn't have pestered you."

"Thanks for understanding Johnny." The two embraced sharing a small kiss."


	4. The New Arrival

**Author's Note:** **New Semi-OC**

Jenna is Jonathan's younger sister. She is 4 years younger than Johnny, making her 23 at this time. She can be seen in HT2 as Mavis's bridesmaid who is cowering from the green monster while taking pictures. She is voiced by Becky G. Her name is courtesy of Sweetbury771

* * *

Chapter 4

The New Arrival

One month had pasted since Johnny had asked Dracula if it was possible to be transformed into a vampire and Mavis overheard the conversation. She was upset that Johnny had not asked her first, even though she would have had to ask her father about it. Meanwhile, someone else was about to arrive at the hotel for a visit. (Credit for Jenna and Wilbur goes to Sweetberry771) Wilbur is the oldest pup of Wayne and Wanda

"So when is your sister going to get here?" Mavis asked Johnny. "I haven't been able to see Jenna since Dennis's birthday, and I really liked her."

"Her flight lands in about an hour. She should be here in about three," Johnny answered. The truth was that Johnny was also excited to see her. They were not able to spend any time together during the Christmas trip to California, as she had moved away the past summer. "I also wanted to see Jenna, but her job required her to work Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas. It just wasn't worth it for her to come in for a few hours."

"I would have gladly carried her."

"That might have been a little weird for her. And you're right. She really likes you, too." A large smile crossed Mavis's face. "And I think of all of Dennis's human aunts and uncle, Jenna is his biggest fan also. I don't think even your dad was more excited at Dennis getting his fangs than she was. She always liked monster movies and stories. By the way, you didn't tell any of my family about what we talked about last month, did you?"

"I don't think so. I know I definitely didn't tell your parents, but Jenna seems to have a sixth sense when people are keeping things from her."

"Yeah, she always was a human lie detector. She's even better than my mom, and that is what worries me about her coming. But, she did have this trip planned ever since she knew that she couldn't see us at Christmas." Dennis entered the room as a bat. "Hey Little Man, are you excited to see your Aunt Jenna today?"

"Yeah. Jenna is the nicest to me of all my aunts and uncles," Dennis answered. "She thinks it is really cool that I can fly."

"Are you all done with Papa Drac for today?" Mavis asked her son.

"Yes, I think he wanted me to relax before Aunt Jenna got here. We only flew around the cemetery."

"Then why don't you take a bath before she gets here so you're all nice and clean for your biggest fan," Johnny said. "You don't want to be a stinky bat for someone who hasn't seen you in almost 7 months. She won't believe how big and good you've gotten at all this."

"Ok, Daddy." Mavis went in to the bathroom and turn on the water for him, while Johnny and Dennis went to pick out what he wanted to wear. Naturally, he wanted to wear his version of Dracula's outfit, since Jenna really like it as well and the fact that of all of Johnny's siblings, Jenna admired him almost as much as his parents did. Dennis played in the bathtub for almost an hour before he was ready to come out. Mavis then dried him and helped him get dressed. "I wanna go spend some time with Papa Drac before she gets here."

"Ok, honey," said Mavis. The truth is that she wanted some private time with Johnny to ask if he had thought anymore about getting transformed. "Johnny, have you given any thought to what we talked about." She was deliberately vague just in case someone else may still be listening.

"Actually, I have. A lot of the depression I had been feeling that led to me even thinking about it has gone away. I am actually able to help a lot more than I thought I would." The truth was that even though Johnny could not fly as a bat, the housekeeping staff had taught him how to ride their brooms and he was really good at it. "The fact that I can now fly with you guys has been really great for me."

"I like it, too. But still it would be fun if you could fully participate in all the stuff we do." Once Johnny had been caught trying to keep it from her, he didn't hold back any more. If Mavis asked, he told her the truth. He tried once after that to hide something from her, but she instantly figured it out. She instantly growled so fiercely at him that he actually peed his pants. She instantly apologized, but was still chuckling at him while she was. "Johnny, have you completely given up on that idea?"

"No, but I keep thinking about how I would explain it to the rest of my family. I think mom would understand, since she first figured out I was unhappy, but dad and my brothers, I don't know about. Only Jenna would probably be completely accepting. And by the and by way, did you notice how Jenna and Wilbur were acting last time she was here?"

"Yes, honey. I think they might have zinged as well. She ran into him in the lobby, kind of like the way we did, except Wilbur was chasing after his brothers and Jenna was standing talking to my father. He said they had the same look in their eyes we did."

"She always did have interesting tastes in boyfriends. That could be interesting if Winnie is Dennis's zing as well. Jenna could be Dennis's aunt and sister-in-law."

"That sounds kind of creepy." Jenna's hearse arrived shortly after midnight, but she was wide awake since she slept on the plane most of the flight. Mavis was the first to meet her as she was in the lobby filling in for her father at the time. "Hi, Sis," Mavis said as soon as she caught sight of her. Immediately afterwards she texted Johnny to tell him about the arrival.

"Oh, Mavis, I haven't seen you in so long. We have so much to catch up on, and it feels like you're one of the only people I can honestly talk to." Mavis smiled as Jenna confided in her. "How's Johnny been. I heard he was a little insecure about your father."

"Did your mother tell you that? I wasn't even supposed to be told, but I caught him and my father talking about it and he spilled his guts."

"I am like a human lie detector. I always even found my Christmas presents early. Almost no one can keep a secret from me. By the way, have you seen Wilbur?"

"I think he is watching his siblings. Wanda and Wayne were supposed to come here for the night and have some alone time."

"Terrific, as soon as I say hello to my brother, nephew and father-in-law, I think I am going to head over to see him. I think I missed him almost as much as Dennis."

"You're telling me you don't miss me?"

"I do, but we text and skype enough that I don't ever feel like we don't speak. Wilbur doesn't even have a cell phone."

"Jenna, I've missed you so much," Johnny said as he entered the lobby with Dennis as a bat right behind him. "I know someone else who missed you as well. Make that two people."

"Aunt Jenna, I missed you so much," said Dennis as he landed on her shoulder. Jenna grabbed him and he turned back to his human form. She instantly kissed him on the forehead. "I had hoped I would have been able to see you in California."

"I had to work, sweetie. Sorry, but it wasn't my choice. How have you been? I see you've gotten really good at flying."

"Watch this," he said as he transformed back into a bat. As soon as he took off Mavis gave him a stern look and he landed and switched back. "Sorry, mommy."

"Tomorrow, honey. Jenna will be here for a week. There will be plenty of time for you and Papa Drac to show here what you two have been working on." Jenna left the lobby to go say hi to Dracula, Wayne, Wanda who were all eating dinner together, then she would go to see Wilbur. "Such a nice girl. Kind of tough to believe she is your sister."

"That's kind of mean," Johnny said, "besides, she was the baby girl of the family. She was mom and dad's princess. They spoiled her rotten."

"That's a dad's job with his princess," Mavis said with a large smile on her face. "My father did it to me."


	5. Jenna's Visit

**Author's Note: New OC**

Wilbur Werewolf is the oldest pup of Wayne and Wanda. He is 61 years old, but appears to be in his early twenties. He stands slightly taller than his father, mainly because he had better posture. He wears jeans that had been cut so bad that he turned them into shorts, along with a black "Misfits" tee shirt that is covered by a leather jacked and combat boots. His fur was darker than his parents, with tufts of black hair on his head. His eyes were moon silver with a tint of gold. He is voiced by Ezra Miller. He is an OC of Sweetbury771.

* * *

Chapter 5

Jenna's Visit

Jenna found Wilbur at his parents' house while he was babysitting his siblings. She had decided to take Dennis with her to play with Winnie as well, and he was all too eager to go. "Thanks, Aunt Jenna," Dennis said when she asked him to come. The truth was that ever since Winnie's whimpering cause Dennis to fly into a bout of rage and sprout his fangs, the two had become very close. He continued, "But is it ok with mommy and daddy?"

"Go ahead, little man," Johnny said. "Go have fun with your girlfriend."

"Dad, she's not my girlfriend. I'm still too young."

"But you're an eligible bachelor. No reason for you to start looking at girls already."

Mavis was shaking her head but laughing. "Oh, honey, have a good time. As for you," turning to Johnny, "it's a beautiful night. How about a fly?"

"Sounds great. Let me go borrow a broom. Be right back."

"Dennis, why don't you go with him?" Johnny and Dennis left the room leaving the two girls with a few minutes to talk. "Jenna, Johnny doesn't want me to tell you this, but he has been considering trying to become a vampire." Mavis didn't like to keep secrets from Jenna, and trusted her with anything.

"What?! Johnny is willing to try something like that? That isn't like him. Sure, he'll explore the globe without a second thought, but something like that?"

"I know. I was shocked when I caught him and my dad discussing it, but it is true. He has gotten over a little of the insecurity, but he says he hasn't completely dismissed it." Mavis heard Johnny coming back and started whispering to Jenna, "we can talk more about this later, but I thought you should be the first to know, as you seem to have the most respect for us monsters, but please do not tell anyone."

"No problem. I am great at keeping secrets. The truth is Johnny called me the day after the two of you met, and said he thought you were the one," Mavis began to blush, "and I didn't tell anyone. I let Johnny do that. Thanks for trusting me, sis." The two ladies shared a hug as Johnny and Dennis came back into the room with Johnny on the broom and Dennis in bat form just behind. "You two have a good time. Come on, Dennis, let's go visit the werewolves."

Mavis and Johnny took off in flight, and soared until they were above the clouds playing hide and go seek. Mavis was a pro, and could always avoid Johnny finding her until she wanted him to, but tonight it seemed more like she was trying to distract him than actually play. Johnny noticed this also and asked her what she was up to.

Mavis tried to hide it, but Johnny knew his wife well enough to know something wasn't right. "Honey, what's wrong. Normally I can't find you unless you want me to. You're not pregnant again are you?"

"No, I wouldn't try to hide that from you. My dad maybe, but not you, and definitely not Jenna. I told her before I told you about Dennis, and I think she was even more excited than you were."

"That's just her; she wants to be a part of anyone's good news. Can we go back to the hotel now? Flying like this is great, but it's not the same without your father and Dennis."

"Sure, honey. I just thought this would be a good way to let Dennis and Jenna have a little time together as well, since she is his biggest fan."

"Bigger than your father?"

"Well, maybe biggest human fan." The two returned to the hotel where they went and cuddled for the rest of the night, waiting for Dennis to come back.

Dennis wasn't sure if he could carry Jenna to the werewolves' house. He was curious to try, but didn't want to risk dropping her. It was immaterial, since their house was only a short walk from the hotel. When they were about 100 yards from the house Winnie rushed out to meet them, followed by Wilbur. Winnie tackled Dennis like always, but didn't start licking him. She caught sight of Jenna shortly after. She really like Jenna as well. "Aunt Jenna," Winnie said to Jenna, "I didn't realize you were coming."

"I just got in a few hours ago, and figured I'd come over. I decided to bring your special friend with me as well." As she said this Wilbur approached her and began kissing her hand. The two then embraced and shared a deep kiss. "How are you my zing?" Jenna said to Wilbur.

"Great now. I just wish you would have told me you were coming. How did you know about the zing?"

"Mavis. She showed me the book her mother gave her for her 118th birthday. Anyway, it doesn't matter what you call love at first sight, so long as it is love. Right, Winnie?"

Winnie and Dennis both blushed. Winnie spoke, "Yes, Aunt Jenna. It's like my mother always told me, 'A rose by any other name would still be as sweet.'"

"Winnie, I didn't know monsters even knew that idiom. But yes, the name is immaterial."

During Jenna's visit she stayed with Wilbur most of the time. Johnny said, "Those two just seem as perfect for each other as we do. I'm so glad they found each other, even more than for us. Jenna had always had bad luck in love. She always seemed to want the 'bad boy' and try to change him. I think she finally succeeded."

The week proceeded was too quickly for everyone, but especially Mavis. She never had a real close confidant, and Jenna was the closest thing that she had. Mavis said to Johnny, "Texting and phone calls are one thing, but I wish she'd move here with Wilbur. I really wish that those two would commit, and would get it over with. I can tell that they are zingers, and are meant to be."

"That's just Jenna. She has to be absolutely sure, especially if it meant moving here. She has a good job back home teaching school, and really loves it. She would have to give all of that up for Wilbur, but yes, I see it too. It will happen, it is just a matter of when."

The last night, Jenna shed a lot of tears before boarding the hearse to return to the airport. "I never feel like I get enough time here with you guys, but I have a feeling that will change soon." No one really knew what was coming next, but Mavis was hopeful it was what she was thinking. "You see, last night, Wilbur asked me to be his wife, and I said yes. The wedding is scheduled to be around Dennis's birthday party in June, since everyone was planning on coming then, anyway." The girls all hugged, while the guys all gave high fives to Wilbur. Congratulations were exchanged all around. "Mavis I was hoping you would be my Maid of Honor."

Mavis turned to Jenna, "Of course, Jenna. I'd love to." The two hugged again. "When you come back in June, we'll prepare to make it the best day of your life, hopefully better than mine was." With that, Jenna left for the airport, knowing the next time she came, she'd be staying in Transylvania. "I wonder what she is going to tell your mother," Mavis said to Johnny.

"I don't worry about what she will tell mom, its dad I'm worried about. But he sees the way we are, and I think that will make him feel better about it. After all, she has been by herself for almost a year now. There is one other thing, you didn't tell her about our conversation did you?"

"Why, honey, what would make you think that?"

"Well, she told me that if I do it, I needed to commit and trust myself now like I did when I asked you to marry me. She tried to be vague, but what else could she be talking about?"

"Maybe about her getting married to Wilbur?"

"I doubt it. She said that I was the one who needed to trust myself, not her." He feigned a vampire style growl, "I don't believe you."

"You caught me this time. I think she got it out of your mom, that you were unhappy. But she is right. From what dad said, if and when you are ready, we must be totally committed."


	6. A Troubling Sign

Chapter 6

A Troubling Sign

Two weeks had pasted since Jenna left, and things seemed to be getting back to normal. With the wedding between Jenna and Wilbur now planned for less than four months from now, Mavis and Jenna talked on the phone almost every night. This seemed to bring them even closer. There was so much to plan in such a short time, but it was possible, especially since travel concerns weren't an issue.

Mavis and Johnny were still lying in bed waiting for Dennis to come and get them as he did every morning. Johnny turned to her and said, "Good evening honey. What is the plan for tonight?"

"A lot of planning. I'm so glad that Jenna is coming back in April to help with it. That is when the time crunch starts. When she leaves, the wedding will be inside of two months away."

"It is so lucky for her that she has you and your dad to lean on for help. I know the three of us can make it so special for her."

Dennis flew into the room and Mavis and Johnny tried to pretend they were sleeping, but Dennis knew better. "Don't act like you were sleeping. I heard you talking."

"He's on to us, Mavis."

"I've got better hearing than Winnie. I heard you talking, I just wasn't sure what it was about." He turned to Johnny, "Dad, can I have something special for breakfast? I'd like wormcakes."

Mavis answered, "That sounds good. Give us a little bit to get dressed and we will go down together." Dennis left the room and went to go watch a Batman video on TV while he waited on his parents. "There is one other thing, honey."

"What's that my zing?"

Mavis always loved when he still called her that. "Have you heard from my Grampa Vlad?"

"No, I thought he called you or your dad every week to check up on Dennis." Johnny was now almost as concerned as Mavis was because he knew that Bela's bat demon cronies still hated the fact that he warmed to humans.

"I haven't heard from him in about two weeks. He didn't mention any sort of a trip or anything like that to me," the concern now becoming evident in her voice. "I'll check with daddy after breakfast, unless he is down there also."

"No, wait until after. I don't want you to upset Dennis. He has a big day coming up. His tryout for camp is next week. I know your dad wants him to go after what happened last year, and even more so since they have new management that is a little more old school than last year, but not anything like what it was when he went there."

"I think your right, honey. If he doesn't know anything, I'll probably go over to Vlad's place tomorrow. I'd love to be able to do it tonight, but there is too much to do now." They headed down to the restaurant getting Dennis before leaving.

They joined Dracula in the lobby and went in for breakfast. The restaurant had begun serving more human food to go along with the monster staples. Dennis had the wormcakes, while Johnny and Mavis both had omelets. Dracula simply drank some blood substitute, as he wasn't hungry. He could sense something was bothering Mavis, but knew his daughter well enough to know that the time wasn't right to discuss it.

Dracula spoke first," Denisovich, there isn't going to be anything until after midnight, so you can go play until then. Johnny, why don't the two of you go do something."

"Daddy, why don't we go for a fly?" Johnny had his own witch's broom now and always enjoyed when he could play with his son. "We haven't done that in so long, you know. Just the two of us."

"You and I," Johnny always loved to quote the song every time someone set him up. It annoyed Dracula the first few times he did, but he learned to laugh at it, especially since he liked the song now, also. "Mavis, that will give you time to talk to your father about what's on your mind," he said whispering to her.

Mavis nodded, and thanked him. Then Johnny and Dennis headed back to the room so Johnny could get his broom. "Daddy, I think something is wrong," Mavis said to her father. "I haven't heard from Grampa in a while and I am getting worried about it. He didn't mention going anywhere to you, did he?" Dracula shook his head. His father rarely called him, but ever since Dennis got his powers, he did get closer to his great vampa, so he called Mavis all the time. "Something Bela said before he was eaten by the wolf pups is now bothering me. He said, 'you are a traitor to your allies, this treachery will never be forgiven. The price will be your life.'"

Dracula now looked worried also. "I'm sure it is nothing. He may just be hibernating again. It's part of getting old. You just end up sleeping for three or four days straight."

Mavis knew her father was just as worried now. "I figured I'd try and call him tonight. If he didn't answer, I was planning on going over tomorrow."

"I think I should go with you, just in case it is some sort of a trap."

Mavis could now here the dread in her father's voice and said fighting back tears, "I just hope I'm wrong, but thank you for understanding. Come on. Let's go see what the boys are up to. They left the restaurant and turned into bats to seek out their family. They found them sitting on the roof instead of flying. All four reunited there. "Honey, why aren't you flying with your son?"

"We took off, but he saw the stars tonight and was just lost in their beauty. So we came here and I started telling him about them. Did you know that the sky in the southern hemisphere looks nothing like it does here?"

Mavis was shocked to hear Johnny giving her trivia, "I had heard that. What is he doing with your phone?"

"I was showing him star charts. That is the way for thousands of years that humans navigated the globe. Using those celestial balls for guidance." Mavis was wondering why Johnny was getting this deep with their 5 ½ year old son, but she was happy to see them bonding. "Actually, it was that great, bright moon that caught his attention. There is supposed to be a total lunar eclipse in a few minutes. There hasn't been one of those in this part of the world in a long time."

"A lunar eclipse?" Dracula said to Johnny. "What is that?"

"That is when the Earth gets in the way of the sunlight hitting the moon."

Dracula now looked panicked. "When is it supposed to start?"

"In about ten minutes. Why the concern in your voice? A complete lunar eclipse is one of the rarest things there is, even rarer than a solar eclipse."

"Johnny, I'll tell you when we are on the ground." The group immediately got off the roof and onto the ground. "You see, my boy, a night like tonight is the only night that a monster is mortal, and can be killed as easily as a human. Our powers vanish while the moon is darkened like that. Thank goodness it doesn't happen that often, but it is one of the biggest risks to monsters." He turned to Mavis, "We better try and call Vlad now and warn him. I hope we are just not too late." Mavis's and Dracula's worse fears deepened when they could not contact him. "I'm sure it's just a coincidence." He was not sure who he was trying to convince more, himself or Mavis.

"I hope your right daddy. I hope your right."

During the eclipse, only Johnny felt like himself. They all watched it from the ground, and it was eerily beautiful, but Mavis and Dracula were so weak they had to sit, and Dennis could stand, but he couldn't access any of his vampire abilities. Johnny turned to Dracula after the moon began to reappear saying, "So that is pretty much your only major weakness?"

"For the most part. It doesn't affect hybrids as much, but you could see how Denisovich struggled thru it as well."

Johnny began thinking about being transformed again. He thought, "There are always drawbacks to any decision. I must remember this one throughout my consideration."


	7. The Motivation WARNING SLIGHTLY GRAPHIC

Chapter 7

The Motivation

 **Warning, this chapter is a little graphic (blood) and may not be suitable for children under 13.**

The next night, all of the family went to Grampa Vlad's house, unsure of what they would find. With the eclipse the night before and the loss of power that accompanies it the whole family feared the worse. The trip there was made quickly as the three vampires flew in bat form, while Johnny rode his broom. There was palpable tension among the group, as even Dennis seemed to understand the uncertainty that his mother and grandfather felt. They had tried to convince Johnny to stay behind, but he insisted on coming.

"There is his cave." Mavis said. The whole group approached together not knowing what to expect. Upon entering, there was no sign of Vlad, and everyone began to search for him. About thirty minutes later, Johnny finally found him, lying in his coffin with a stake thru his heart. Mavis's worst fears were correct; someone had killed her grandfather. Immediately, she began to burn with rage and grief, but Johnny was able to calm her down. "I swear on my life, that whoever did this will pay. Dearly."

Dracula and Dennis then approached and saw Vlad's body, and both began to weep. Dracula tried now to calm down his daughter as well. "Honey, you can't go looking for trouble now. This isn't the right time. You must calm down. If we were to seek the ones who did this, it would be too risky. What they say about revenge is true; it is a dish best served cold."

"Mommy, what happened to Papa Vlad?"

"He is dead, Denisovich," Drac answered. "Someone has slain him. My guess is it happened before the eclipse. Had it happened during, there would be more evidence than this. I think he has been dead for at least three days."

Johnny was next to comment. "Look at the scratches on his face. It definitely was a monster." Johnny did always like CSI type shows, and Mavis knew he was probably right anyway. "The bat demons probably got their revenge."

The group began preparing to transport the body to the cemetery outside the hotel to bury Vlad, but before they could leave, the vampires heard an unsettling screech. The bat demons were on their way back. Dracula's worst fear was now confirmed as well. This had been a trap.

The demons arrived two minutes later. The vampires had begged Johnny to hide, but he was being as stubborn as always. "No, I gotta try and help anyway I can."

"But, Johnny," Mavis pleaded, "there isn't much you can do. You are the easiest target. And I couldn't bear losing you also." Johnny relented and hid inside Vlad's closet. The fight lasted about 10 minutes, with the vampires defeating the demons, although many of the demons were able to retreat. They only managed to kill five of them, despite more than 20 attacking them. It appeared more that the vampires never were the target. After they left, the vampires went to find Johnny, who to their horror was gone. Johnny had been kidnapped.

Dracula was actually the first to speak, "We have to go and get him. Who knows what their plan is. I don't think they will kill him right away, as dead bait doesn't catch game, and I have a feeling that we were their game."

"But why did they kill grandpa?" Mavis asked her father. "If that shouldn't work."

"Because they knew they had to make sure we would come and stay for a while to allow them to attack us while they waited from a safe distance. Anyway, we must go now, before we lose the sent."

"Wait a minute," said Mavis grabbing her phone. "I am calling for backup." She dialed a number on her phone and Dracula heard her speaking. "Wayne, it's Mavis. I don't have time to explain, but Johnny has been kidnapped by the bat demons who previously served my grandfather. We need all the monsters you can get to help us find them." She hung up the phone. "He's going to round up a posse as quickly as he can. He said that Wilbur will be able to find us based off the GPS on my phone." With that the vampires followed what was left of the scent.

They caught up to them at their hideout that was only about five minutes from Vlad's cave. The waited outside, but Dennis, who had the best hearing was able to eavesdrop on their plans. Dracula was first to speak, "This must be a covert operation. If they suspect they might lose Johnny to us, they might kill him. So we must get him out of their ASAP. The cavalry can help cover our escape, but we must have him out of their custody before they get here." Everyone agreed. "Dennis, where are they holding your father?" He pointed to a room. "Can you tell if there is anyone else in there."

"No, Papa, but I don't hear anything coming from there except daddy saying bad words."

"Hopefully, his cursing them will buy us a distraction," Mavis said now visibly upset. "We must go now." Mavis and Dennis went into the room, leaving Dracula to create a diversion for them. He began to levitate stones, hurling them at the windows and walls. Instantly, the demons came out to see what was going on but was surprised that Dracula was alone. He began to kill every one of them by himself. This was the first time since he met Martha that his lust for blood would not be quenched until every last demon was dead.

Mavis and Dennis found Johnny quickly and began to also slay every demon they found. Like their father and grandfather, they didn't stop until everyone was motionless on the ground with blood still dripping from their fangs. The only one left standing was Johnny who started running towards Dennis with his arms outstretched towards him. The two were less than a foot from embracing, when Mavis, driven by panic, started to attack Johnny. She knocked him against the wall on the other side of the room before their son's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Mommy, that's daddy. Please don't hurt him," Dennis said pleading for his father's life.

Mavis's fangs were less than an inch from Johnny's neck when she realized it was him, and she couldn't believe she almost killed her love. The two instantly embraced, with Mavis crying uncontrollably. "Oh, Johnny, I am so sorry. I almost did something terrible"

"Don't be. You stopped in time. You were in a blind rage. Dennis wouldn't have let you hurt me. Thanks, little man." Dennis now with a large smile on his face, despite the fact his fangs were also stained with blood.

"I just hope I would have stopped."

"You would have. I love you so much. Where is your father?"

"He is providing a distraction. We must get out of here immediately. The posse is on their way."

The two vampires didn't bring the broom with them, so they carried Johnny by levitation out the window with them, both of them clutching him tightly. When Johnny saw all the demon's bodies lying at Dracula's feet, blood still dripping from his fangs, he was the most afraid of his father-in-law he had ever been. As soon as they landed next to Dracula, the cavalry arrived. Frank had accompanied Wayne and his two oldest pups, Wilbur and Willy. The other monsters saw Dracula, and for the first time ever, were truly terrified of their best friend.

"Drac, what happened buddy?" Frank said to his best friend.

"They killed my father, and for the first time, I truly showed no mercy. I could have killed 100 of them. I wasn't going to stop." Mavis, Dennis, or Johnny didn't mention the fact that she had almost attacked Johnny. "I forgot how I hate attacking like that, but once you start, the bloodlust is tough to stop."

"Well, let's get out of here," Wilbur said. "We brought one of the hearses with us."

"No, I have to go get my father's body. I want him buried next to my wife's, next to where I hope one day to be buried as well."

Mavis added, "Dad, I'm coming with you."

"No!" This was the sternest he had talked to her in 40 years. "You must protect your family." Johnny now looked guiltily. He knew he had put his family in jeopardy by accompanying them on what was so obviously a trap. Everyone except Dracula, Mavis and Dennis got in the hearse. Dracula went to go get his father's corpse, while Mavis and Dennis flew in bat form in front of the hearse just in case more enemies were out there waiting on them.

The hearse arrived at the hotel in about 30 minutes after it left the hideout. Dracula arrived about 20 minutes later carrying his father's coffin. When everyone was safely inside the family all began to mourn the loss of Vlad. The funeral would be planned for the next night. No one slept much the following day, as they were all distraught over the events of the previous night.


	8. Shockwaves

Chapter 8

Shockwaves

Johnny had feared that Mavis had broken his ribs when she slammed him against the wall during the fight, so he went to the hotel infirmary. Mavis accompanied her husband. While waiting on the results from the X-rays Mavis broke down in tears and said, "Oh, honey. I can't believe how close I came to killing you. I never thought I would be provoked like that. I couldn't stop myself. Had Dennis not said anything, I probably would have killed you."

"But you did stop. And Dennis wouldn't have allowed you to hurt me," Johnny answered as he began to cuddle his wife to give her comfort. "He knew you would stop."

"But I still almost bit you."

"Yes, but luckily we were on the right side of almost. You didn't, and that is all that matters." Johnny was lost in thought for a few minutes before saying, "Can I talk about something else about last night, or would you like to let it go?"

"Go ahead. I need closure, so talking about it might do some good."

"Last night was the first time since I first got to the hotel and found out that everything was real that I was actually afraid of you, and your father. I'd like to have all three of us talk to him about it later."

"Ok, my love."

The doctor came in to review the X-ray results. To everyone's relief they were negative. Johnny's ribs were only bruised and would be fine in a few days. "Just keep them wrapped up, and don't make any unnecessary movements for the next few days, and they'll be fine." The doctor left after bandaging Johnny, and they headed to get Dennis who was with his grandfather.

Meanwhile, Dracula, Dennis, Frank, Wilbur, and Wally were sitting around a table, however no one was saying anything. The non-vampires were still terrified of what their friend had done. Finally it was Wilbur who spoke, "Uncle Drac, What did it feel like when you were killing those demons." He wanted to use a different word, but censored himself since Dennis was present.

"To be completely honest, after I killed the first one at my father's cave, I don't remember killing any others. Once the rage starts, it is almost impossible to stop."

Dennis said, "That's what happened to mommy." Dennis instantly blushed, and couldn't believe he just outed his mother.

"Denisovich, what did your mother do?"

"Nothing, Papa Drac."

"Don't lie to me son. Was it something involving your daddy? Is that why he is in the infirmary?"

"I really shouldn't say. Let mommy and daddy tell you when they are ready. Please don't make me tell on them."

"Ok, Denisovich, I won't pry anymore." Dracula then turned to the rest of the group, "This was the first time I lost control since before I met Martha. She always knew how to control my temper. After she died, it was Mavis who did. But this was the first time that the rage was caused by what happened to my family."

Frank was next to speak, "The truth is that that was the first time that I was ever afraid of you. That look in your eyes with the blood on your fangs terrified me." Everyone agreed with him.

"I just hope this hasn't awakened something." Mavis and Johnny entered the room and sat down with the group. "Johnny, are you hurt badly?"

"No, just bruised my ribs. They'll be fine in a few days." He turned to the rest of the group, "Guys, can my family have some time alone to talk." Everyone but the family left. All agreed they would return that night for Vlad's memorial. Johnny turned to Mavis, "I think we need to tell him."

Mavis acquiesced and said, "Daddy, I nearly killed Johnny tonight. Had Dennis not said it was him when he did, I would have sunk my fangs into him."

"So that must have been what Denisovich was referring to." Mavis gave Dennis a look of disappointment. "Don't be mad at the boy. He just said something happened to you, but didn't want to elaborate anymore." Dennis now looked embarrassed, as if he was in trouble.

"No Dennis, you did nothing wrong," Johnny said reassuring his son, "We were planning on telling him about it anyway."

"Are you sure it is ok, mommy?"

"Absolutely, my son. We can't have any secrets from each other." Now it was Johnny who felt guilty. His path had been revealed in the last 12 hours, but wasn't ready to inform them yet. "Dad, I almost didn't stop."

"You weren't the only one," Dracula answered. "I nearly attacked Frank before I recognized him. I'm going to guess that you thought Johnny was about to attack Dennis."

"That's correct. How did you know that?"

"Because that is the maternal instinct meeting the monster one. It is very powerful. The fact that I wasn't fighting to protect anyone from immediate danger let me recognize my allies quicker. But, I am worried now."

"What are you worried about, Papa Drac?"

"I am worried this may have awakened our inner monsters. Dennis being only half monster has less of a chance of it overtaking him. But as for us, it can be tough to repress once the taste of real blood is introduced to us. Mavis, it is going to take all of our willpower. Johnny, you are going to have to help us."

"Just tell me what you need me to do."

"For the next two weeks, we cannot have any blood of any kind. No meat, no blood substitute, nothing. Mavis, we must ween ourselves, otherwise we may become slaves to the desire. Denisovich, you are going to need to do largely the same, at least for a few days. Once the taste of blood gets on your palette, it is tough to get rid of. We have worked too hard to eliminate any hostilities between monsters and humans. This can't be what sinks it."

Dennis next spoke while trying not to yawn, "I'm getting tired. Can I go to bed?"

Mavis replied, "Yes, I think that may be a good idea for all of us. We have company coming over at sundown, so we all should try to get some sleep."

No one was able to sleep much. Dennis was the only one who managed to get more than four hours of sleep. Mavis and Johnny cuddled most of the time, with Johnny trying to reassure Mavis that she did what she thought she had to, and there was no reason to apologize for it.

Dracula paced around his room most of the night. "Martha, I hope I didn't open up Pandora's Box with this. Because if this is what undoes all the goodwill between humans and monsters, it will be the start of persecution the likes of which will be unprecedented." He wasn't sure, but he thought he heard the voice of his beloved trying to comfort him. This led Dracula to break down and weep uncontrollably. "May the stars help me."

The next night, all of the friends came and had a memorial service for Vlad. No one knew much about him, but they all acted like if nothing else, he deserved their respect. Dracula eulogized his father, "My father was old school. He thought that humans and monsters had to be enemies. Him changing that view oddly enough led to his death, after his servants felt betrayed. He couldn't believe that his great-grandchild would be half human, and that would be what changed him."

Johnny now knew his path, but couldn't yet reveal it. He couldn't put that pressure on his wife and father-in-law at the current time. Not when they will be going thru withdrawal symptoms. The time must be right, and this isn't it. Especially with Jenna coming back to visit in about 4 weeks. He hoped that his family would be thru this before she arrived. He knew with that being crunch time for her wedding, he couldn't make her cancel, but how could he explain this to her. He thought this is one of those things that Mavis must explain to her, but he didn't know how long it would be before she would be willing to discuss it with her.


	9. The Road to Recovery

Chapter 9

The Road to Recovery

I will be referencing some events from an alternate ending of Hotel Transylvania I wrote for backstory. It is relatively short, replacing the last 20 minutes or so of the movie

The next day was difficult on everyone, including Johnny. Not only did his family have the events of the previous 2 nights on their heads, but they had begun to wean themselves from the taste of blood. As Dracula suspected this would be a long road. All of them woke up screaming at least once throughout the day. Johnny would do his best to comfort them, which was easier with the Mavis and Dennis, but he was unsure what to say to Dracula.

"Do not worry about me, Johnny," Dracula said trying to provide support to his son-in-law. "I have done this before, so I know what to expect. Mavis is going to have the hardes time. She has never tasted actual blood before as far as I know. She is the one you will have to focus on."

"But dad you…"

Dracula cut him off before he could finish, "No. That is the way it must be. I cannot lean on you that much. Your family needs you more."

"But you're my family as well." Dracula instantly smiled feeling a little relief. "I am just going to have to deat with it. I better get used to it now." A few minutes passed before Johnny wanted to inquire more, "Dad, why did you give up blood before?"

"For my zing. It repulsed her, the hunting. She was never a hateful person, and thought that you couldn't kill unprovoked without hate."

"I think I understand now what happened to Mavis."

"You do?"

"Yes, it wasn't just the fact her grandfather died. That would have caused grief. The pure rage she felt was caused by the fact that I was taken."

"Johnny, you are wise beyond your years. She is going to need all your help for the next few days. Once we get passed that, it gets easier. But cleansing our palettes takes time. Thank you for staying, but I think your son needs you now." As if by physic ability, Dennis woke up crying, and Johnny went to comfort his son.

"Daddy, I've done something bad," Dennis said as Johnny entered. "I think I killed Papa Vlad."

"No, you didn't kill him. It was is former allies."

"But if I wasn't born, then this wouldn't have happened."

"Don't think like that. After he saw all of us at your birthday last year, human and monster, fighting the demons his heart softened. He loved you dearly. Now he and Grandma Martha will be watching over you from beyond the grave." Instantly Johnny didn't like the way it sounded, but it seemed to cheer him up. "Did I ever tell you that it was Grandma Martha who led me to your mom?"

"No."

"I was at the castle she died at, when she spoke to me. She told me I would find my destiny here, and she was right." Johnny was stroking his son's hair, and it seemed to be calming him. "So we do get messages from our loved ones, even when they are not with us." Dennis was now fighting a small smile, and was able to get back to sleep. Johnny stayed with him until Mavis let out one of the most primal cries of terror he had ever heard. He instantly went to comfort his wife.

"Johnny, I can't get the taste of blood out of my mouth. I hate the way it tastes. I never want to taste it again."

"Did you have a nightmare, honey?"

"Yes, this time I actually killed you. I didn't stop. I just kept sucking all the blood out of your body even though I knew it was you. I didn't care." Johnny was now cradling his wife, rocking her back and forth as if she was still a child. "Why," she paused for a second, "Why are you doing this?"

"Because it is what my mother did when I was scared. And I don't know what else to do." It seemed to be having a calming effect on her. As he saw the look of panic leave her he kissed her on the forehead. "My zing, we are going to get you thru this. This is the first step, and from what your father said, it is the hardest. Once the taste is gone, the rest is easy."

Mavis got out of Johnny's arms and went to get a glass of water, hoping that would help. She was horrified upon turning on the tap, and it being the color of blood. She let out a bloodcurdling scream. Johnny instantly rushed to her side. As soon as she saw him she said, "There's no water, it is only blood."

Johnny looked at the clear water coming out of the tap confused. "My love, your mind is playing a terrible trick on you. It is just water. I swear to you it is fine." She was able to take a drink, and to her relief Johnny was right. Instantly the look of horror left her face. "Your father said you would have the hardest time. Are you willing to try something?"

"Sure, anything if you think it will help."

"Turn into a bat, and come into my arms. I will cradle you all night if I have to." She did, and to her surprise, it calmed her. Johnny then began singing one of the lullabies that Dracula used to sing her.

"Hush little, vampire.  
Don't say a word  
Papa's gonna bite the head off a bird."

Mavis was now able to go to sleep, but Johnny still held her for the rest of the day. He repeatedly kissed he on the forehead saying, "I love you so much, my zing."

The next night came and everyone looked much more rested than they had been before. Meals consisted mostly of salads and vegetables, not wanting to risk introducing the taste of blood at all. The biggest hit, other than Mavis's favorite, a bagel with scream cheese, was peanut butter. Johnny said, "It got me thru school for 12 years. Simple, and delicious." Dennis and Dracula didn't do any training, and it meant that he would miss his tryout for Camp Winnepacaca, but everyone knew this was more important.

If there was a good thing to come from all of the rehabilitation, it was that Johnny got to spend a lot of time delving into the inner beings of his family trying to comfort them. And to his surprise, he was good at it. He and Dracula actually learned they had more in common than they thought.

It took three more days before Dracula and Dennis were able to sleep throughout the days, but Mavis still struggled. Every time she woke up screaming, Johnny would ask her to turn into a bat and he would cradle her and sing to her. It worked every time.

About a week later, Mavis finally said, "You said you were going to get me thru this. You have. I cannot believe this has worked as well as it has." She turned back into herself and they embraced and kissed. "My zing, I cannot believe how comforting you can be. I thought this was going to break me, but you wouldn't let it. I love you so much."

"And I love you, my zing. This is how it must be. We must be there for each other. You, Dennis, your father, and I. Like the four horsemen." Johnny instantly regretted this analogy, but luckily Mavis thought it was a good thing so he just rolled with it. He'd explain later.

He was still unsure of when to tell her about his decision, that after the last two weeks was as certain as ever, but Mavis would not be strong enough to hear it now, and by the time that she was back to normal, his sister would be coming to start finalizing the plans for the wedding. He had hoped Mavis had confided in Jenna already and told her everything since she also knew how good Jenna was at deciphering secrets, and besides they had acted like sisters ever since they met. And he knew it was sometimes easier to tell a sister or girlfriend than a husband.


	10. The Decision

Chapter 10

The Decision

Ok, I've had everyone wait long enough on the cliffhanger. It is answered below.

In the past two weeks, it had become easier for all the vampires. They had all made peace with what they had done, and understood that there was no other option. The nightmares had stopped for the most part, although Dennis or Mavis could wake up screaming on occasion, and it was up to Johnny to calm them. Dracula was the best able to cope with the stress as he had given up blood before, but Mavis still fought with having the taste in her mouth. Dennis had found comfort from Winnie as well, which is where he was spending the night at.

Mavis and Johnny were sitting on the roof shortly before midnight. Not much was said in the last half hour, but they were just holding each other, giving them strength. Johnny still didn't know how to tell his family that he was going to do it, but knew the time was getting closer when he could and should tell them. He had thought this would be the best night, with Dennis not here and having the ability to be candid with Mavis and Drac, but the opportunity hadn't presented itself. He didn't worry about Dennis knowing. He didn't want to worry the boy anyway, and hadn't planned to tell him until after they tried it. But telling Mavis would be the tricky part. He never thought that she would be the one to broach the subject.

"Have you thought anymore about it?" Mavis asked.

Johnny thought he'd play coy and said, "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I am talking about. I can tell that you have made up your mind. But, I need to hear you say it and commit either way."

"Then let's go see your father. I think he needs to hear it as well." They headed down from the roof, with Mavis carrying Johnny into her father's study where he was reading a book. "Dad, I think we need to have a talk."

"I was wondering when you were going to come to see me," Dracula answered. "I knew you wanted something, but wanted to give you the chance to tell me first. I thought that is why you sent Denisovich off to be out of the hotel."

"How could you know all that?" Mavis asked her father, "I think he just made up his mind."

Johnny corrected his wife, "The truth is I knew ever since the night I was kidnapped. My path was set then; I just wanted to spare you that stress as well during your recoveries. I couldn't put more on you guys."

"Then you have decided, then?" Dracula asked. "Then what is your decision?"

"I have to do it. I've gotta try and be transformed into a vampire myself. I owe it to my family to be able to protect them, and I cannot do that as a human here. I put all of you in danger that night when I insisted that I go with to check on Vlad, even though I could only offer support. Deep down I knew this when I insisted on going, and that there was a huge risk, but I felt I needed to be there for my family. Now for my family I gotta try this," he turned to Mavis, "if you're willing to help me."

"Of course I am. You got me thru everything in the last few weeks. Now it is my turn to repay you."

"No, you don't owe repayment. We are family. We do what we do out of love, not greed. That is why I feel so strongly about this. I need the ability to protect my family, no matter what the drawbacks are. The truth is I am still indebted to you for all of your strength during that night. I owe more than I can ever repay. Which is why I love you so much."

Dracula cut in asking, "So what are your reasons for wanting to try this risky procedure?"

"I only have one, that being able to protect my family. I can't do it now, so I gotta do whatever it will take to be able to."

"So you have no secondary motives at all?"

"They are irrelevant compared to protecting my family. That is all I care about. You, Dennis, and Mavis mean more to me than my life is worth, so for your sakes, I will endure anything."

"I'm glad you feel that was now. Mavis, are you willing to try it as well? You're the one who will have to do it, and it will be largely up to you to get him thru the first few days. That is the dangerous part."

"I trust Johnny with all of my being. I know that if he didn't feel this was his only choice he wouldn't do it."

"Thank you, Mavis. I love you so much," Johnny said hugging Mavis, and kissing her on the cheek.

Dracula continued, "Now that that is settled, we must pick when we will do this. This will only work on a full moon."

Johnny pulled out his phone and looked when the next one would be. "That won't work. The next full moon is in a week, and Jenna is going to be here. I don't think we want to do this before the wedding, as who knows how much strength I'll have."

Dracula interrupted, "you would be too weak to do much helping with that, if your body survived the shock of the process."

"Nice to see that you're a source of optimism, dad," Johnny said. "So then the next full moon after the wedding would be June 13th."

Mavis now interrupted, "Dennis's birthday?"

"Yes. That could be perfect. The full moon isn't until 4:00 on June 14th, so his party will be over, or we could have the party on the 12th."

"A wedding and a birthday back to back days?" Dracula asked. "I am thinking of your guests more than the staff."

"But that might be perfect. We would then both have something to celebrate on the night of the 13th. His birthday, and my start of life as a vampire."

Mavis jumped in, "You're right. That would be kind of cool. I am willing to do it whenever you are."

"Do you want to go over the process now, or would you like to wait until we get closer to doing it?" Dracula was asking Mavis, but she looked unsure. "It isn't a big deal on that. We can wait until the night of. The crucial thing is you must be 100 percent committed. Both of you."

"I have total confidence in Mavis. She saved my life before. I know she would never harm me intentionally."

Mavis now began to sob remembering the night at the bat demons hideout when she almost bit him. "But I almost did harm you."

"As I said before you didn't. Now I won't have to worry about putting you in that position to ever have to worry about that."

Dracula now looked worried. As the procedure required Mavis to sink her fangs into Johnny. He worried that she wouldn't be able to do that. "Honey bat, you must remember that Johnny wants you to do this. He is accepting the risks that go along with it."

Johnny confirmed Drac's statement, "I am and I do."

"So no matter what, you must understand and commit that he is doing this for your safety and the safety of Denisovich."

"And yours also, my zing. I never want to put you in that position again where you have to worry about my safety. I should be worrying about yours." The sadness now left Mavis as the two of them embraced again and then they shared a kiss.

"I recommend that you let your family know beforehand that you want to do this, that way they will not worry for the first couple of days."

"Only my sister. She was the only one who really respects us. My dad is close, but my mother was dead set against us getting married, so I don't want her finding out. She'd worry about it anyway. Jenna is really good at keeping secrets, and even better at finding them out. So, I try not to hide anything from my baby sister anyway."

"I always suspected that you two shared a tight bond, but never really understood why," Mavis inquired.

"It was because I was always the rock she would lean on, until she found Wilbur. The truth is that part of me is jealous of him, but I know that they are as perfect for each other as Mavis and I are." This caused a huge smile to cross Mavis's face. The kissed one more time, "and as far as I know, she is staying in Transylvania, so I'll always be able to see her."

"Now, may I have a few moments alone with Johnny?" Drac asked Mavis.

"Sure, daddy, if you want. Wayne should be bringing Dennis back any minute now, anyway. I'll go down and wait for them." Mavis left the room.

"Johnny, I must tell you I am worried that Mavis will be able to focus enough."

"Nice to see you waited until now to say something."

"Yes, but she will have to bite your neck. There is no sucking, but I fear that if the taste of blood returns to her tongue at this time, it may be disastrous. Especially since you will be laid up for a few days, even if it goes right."

"She trusts my decision. She knows why I am insisting on doing it. My mom always said that if we remember the why, the how takes care of itself. I will put the complete trust of my life to her anytime."

"But still, I think we need to tell her what to expect before we start. Once we start, there is no going back."

"I agree, but let's get past the next week with Jenna coming back."

Dracula agreed with his son-in-law, and they both went downstairs to wait on Dennis.

Dennis arrived about five minutes later flying, with Wayne in a hearse about ten more minutes behind.

"I got perfectly good wings, and I have to use them," he told his mother when she caught him.

"But honey, what if something would have attacked you?

It was Johnny who answered, "What is going to be stupid enough to not only attack a vampire, but a Dracula?"

Mavis let it go and thanked Wayne for taking him for the night.

Wayne answered, "Anytime. He is a great boy, and I only hope my daughter finds someone like him one day."

Dennis blushed as ever since his 5th birthday their pre-zing had gotten even stronger. Dennis was almost certain that one day Winnie and he would zing for real.


	11. An Unexpected Transformation

Chapter 11

An Unexpected Transformation

Everyone was said to hear that Jenna's flight from Chicago to Zurich had been cancelled, but they knew she would arrive the next day. Johnny, Dracula, and Frank decided to go to Wilbur's bachelor party, while Dennis would stay behind with Mavis who was still working on plans for the wedding.

The party consisted mostly of drinking and playing cards and other games, but Dracula wanted some time with Wayne and Frank, so they talked most of the night. About midway thru the party, a low pitched, but loud and distinct buzzing noise began to fill the sky. It sounded like an angry swarm of bees. After twenty minutes of this, Dracula left to go investigate the source. It was all a ruse.

Less than five minutes later, all of the werewolves covered their ears with their paws and hit the ground in pain. Only Frank and Johnny were unaffected. Within another minute, the source of the noise was revealed. It was three of the bat demons. They had all not been slain. Those three demons decided that they would strive to keep monsters and human from intermarrying by any means necessary, including killing. They had come for Wilbur. The leader of the group went to Wilbur, lifted him by his neck, and showed him his claws. He said, "For the crime of marrying a human, you are sentenced to death."

Johnny was the only one who could act, his eyes flashing blood red for a split second before returning to their normal color. He then shouted, "Noooo!" and lunged at the demon who was about to harm Wilbur. However, before he was able to strike, one of the other bat comrades intercepted Johnny and hit him with a backhanded slap, with him crashing into a tree on the other side of the clearing, at which point something in Johnny snapped. As soon as Johnny regained his breath, his eyes turned blood red and he heard a voice in his head that said, "Use it, Jonathan. Let your rage consume you, and use it." His eyes were not only remained red, but his pupils turned into black, almost snake like slits. A sense of strength consumed Jonathan, the likes of which he had never felt before. He began to shout, "AHHHH!" but halfway through his scream, it morphed into something that sounded much more terrifying. Jonathan began to emit a vampiric roar, that was one of the loudest, deepest roars that any of the bats had heard before.

Johnny lunged fifty feet in less than a second at the bat that was still trying to harm Wilbur, and punched him so hard that Johnny's fist almost went completely through the back of the bat's skull. Johnny's right hand was now covered in blood, and the bat was on the ground motionless. He then went to lunge at the other two attackers, and when he was within a foot of one of them, two of his teeth fell out of his mouth, and in their place appeared two long fangs, longer and more defined than Mavis's, but not quite as much as Dracula's.

The two remailing bats attempted to flee as fast as they could, but Jonathan pursued them. He caught one of them, and he connected with another punch that dropped him as well. Jonathan began to try to follow the last one, but he was already more than 100 yards away, and Frank was finally able to calm down Johnny and he suspended the pursuit.

Dracula came back less than two minutes later, and knew that the sound had been a diversion to draw him away from the group. He then saw Johnny's clenched fists and noticed that he was still panting; not from exhaustion, but anger. Dracula asked his son-in-law, "Johnny, what happened?" noticing the two bats on the ground and Jonathan's blood covered fists.

"I don't know," Johnny said confused. His eyes had returned to their normal color, and he began to come out of the trance he was in.

"I mean, what happened to... what happened to him?" Dracula asked pointing at one of the cronies who laid motionless on the ground.

"I really don't know."

While Jonathan was speaking, Dracula noticed two new features in his mouth and asked, "Johnny, did you and Mavis try it?"

"Try what?" Jonathan was honestly surprised at what the ancient vampire was asking.

"You know what," Dracula being purposely vague because he didn't know if his friends should know their plans.

"No, we weren't even gonna try that until after the wedding."

"Then, how do you have two fangs in your mouth?"

Johnny felt around his mouth with his tongue and then his fingers and was as surprised as anyone else. "I don't know."

Frank was unsure of when to speak up, but he felt he needed to be a witness now. "Drac, I saw the whole thing. Three of the bats came at us and said they were going to kill Wilbur for marrying Jenna. But, before they could, Johnny started running at them, but one of them cut him off and threw him against a tree on the other side of the clearing. But instead of being hurt, he got back up and let out a roar louder than I ever heard you make."

Dracula was now confused saying, "Louder than me?"

"Yeah," Frank answered, "and I only ever heard one vampire ever make that kind of sound before, and that was your father, Vlad. Johnny then attacked the demon threatening Wilbur and punched him so hard, I though his fist would go clean thru his head." Wilbur and the rest of his family were still getting off the ground. "Did any of you guys see what happened?" he said turning to Wilbur and his family.

Wayne answered, "No, we couldn't move from that damn noise."

"What sound are you talking about? Not the low one we heard first, right?" Dracula asked as he attempted to figure out exactly what happened.

"No, that stopped and there was a high pitched whistle, and it hurt our ears. It looked like only Frank and Johnny were immune. Let's not let this get us down, let's get pack to the party."

Johnny looked at his watch and asked Drac if they should stay, since the sun would rise in about an hour. Dracula agreed. The got in a hearse and headed back with Frank. Before they left, Johnny pleaded with Wilbur not to tell Jenna anything about this, until he had figured out what happened.

"What would I tell her, that her brother just instantly transformed into a monster?' Wilbur quipped followed by a chuckle and then Wilbur playfully punching Jonathan in the left shoulder.

"Don't tell her anything!"

"I won't, but you know how she is. She can smell when someone is trying to hide something from her."

"I know. I'm just glad that I'll have another few hours to try and figure it out." Wilbur finally agreed to Jonathan's request.

The way back to the hotel was driven in silence, with Jonathan lost in his thought. He kept licking his fangs, wondering how they had come in. But of more importance to him, was why couldn't he remember anything about them. And what led to them growing.

Mavis heard the hearse pull in and came outside to meet them, and instantly went to give Johnny a kiss. "Hey, guys. You're back." As she kissed Johnny, she felt something pierce her lip. "Aw, must have got myself," she said as she licked her lip tasting her own blood. But as Johnny pulled back, Mavis saw the fangs in his mouth. Now she was confused. "Johnny, what happened?"

"I don't know," he said forcefully.

"How do you have fangs in your mouth now?"

Yet again Johnny answered, "I don't know. Someone attacked us at the-"

Dracula cut off his son-in-law, "We shouldn't talk about that here. Let's go to my library." The whole group went into the room. Dracula now turned to Frank. "What exactly happened after I left?"

"The bats showed up, went to attack Wilbur. Johnny tried to stop them. He was thrown against a tree. Let out a horrifying roar, and then lunged at the demon that was about to kill Wilbur, and punched his harder than I have ever seen anyone get punched before." Frank turned to Jonathan to ask him, "Do you remember any of that?"

Jonathan shook his head. "Not a thing. The last thing I remember was screaming at them and going at them. I don't remember anything after that."

Dracula inquired further, "What happened after that."

Frank continued, "They tried to get out of there as fast as they could. They looked terrified of Johnny. Johnny caught one of the others as he tried to flee."

"There are only two possible explanations," Dracula started to explain.

"What's that?" Johnny asked curious about what had happened to him.

"Well, there actually are three, but since you said you haven't tried the process, that can't be it. Either Johnny has been possessed, or something has been awoken in him."

Mavis then asked, "How at this age could something have been awoken in him, if you need to get your fangs by five?"

"That is not always the case, but it is very rare after age five the fangs come in. And they has to be some vampire blood in you. You are completely human, right Johnny?"

"As far as I know."

Mavis wanted to tell him the truth, as she still remember her first meeting with Jenna, when she told her about the truth. They did have vampire blood in them. However, Jenna and Mike had both sworn her to secrecy about it.

"The other possibility is that you were possessed by someone. Maybe my father."

"Your father?" Johnny asked quizzically. "You mean I'm possessed by Vlad?"

"It is a possibility."

"How do we find out?" Jonathan asked.

"It is almost impossible to tell."

Mavis then asked, "Well, which is worse?" Even though she knew the truth about his lineage, but she still couldn't figure out how it could have possible awoken.

"The truth is that it depends on who is possessing you. If it is my father, that might not be a bad thing. He would be trying to protect his family. He is just using you to do it. If something has been awoken, you cannot be certain what will come from that."

"But daddy, how is that even possible?" Mavis asked.

"Weird things happen when family is threatened, especially with powerful family beyond the grave. They find ways to protect the ones they love. Like your mother."

"What? What about mom?"

"Remember how she guided Johnny here?"

"Yeah?"

"That was her looking out for you. My dad may be possessing him to look after you, too. But at this time, that is only a theory."

Johnny then asked, "Then how do we figure out which one it is?"

"We need to figure out if you have any vampire blood in you. If you do, then it is possible that something has been awoken. It is also possible to be a mix of the two as well. Where my father's spirit went into your body, it woke something up."

"What do I tell my sister?"

"Until we know more, I'd tell her as little as possible. You don't want to worry her with the wedding coming up. Besides, we deliberately asked Wilbur not to say anything either."

"But what if she sees my fangs?"

"We can worry about that later."

Everyone was now more scared than anything else. There was only one thing Johnny had yet to try as a vampire. He had used super speed, super strength, and even levitated. But he hadn't turned into a bat and flown. He was curious to see if he could, but that would have to wait until that evening as the sun had risen.


	12. Jenna's Secret

Chapter 12

Jenna's Secret

"Awww!"

Mavis was awoken by Jonathan's scream coming from the bathroom. "Johnny, what's a matter?"

"Look!" He said pointing to the mirror. "I can't see myself! All I can see is my shirt and my hair!"

"So what?" Mavis asked. She was honestly confused at his reaction after what had happened to him the previous night.

Jonathan tilted his head slightly at his wife. He didn't understand how she could be just laughing this off like she was. "So what? Where is my reflection?"

Mavis moved in close, holding onto his waist with her left arm, while pointing at the mirror with her right, "Johnny, look." She didn't have a reflection either.

Jonathan finally started to put the pieces together. He assumed what happened the previous night was a dream. It was just too weird not to be. "So did you try it last night?"

"No. Johnny, I still don't even know what I would have had to have done."

"But then," he whispered before feeling around the inside of his mouth. That's when he felt the fangs with his tongue. "So it wasn't a dream," he whispered surprised.

"No, Johnny. It really happened," Mavis said smiling at him. Secretly she wanted to have Jonathan become a vampire, despite the fact that she was worried about correctly turning him. Mavis wanted to be with Jonathan for eternity, and maybe now that would be possible.

"But why can I only see my clothes, but with you everything is invisible?"

"I don't know, but Dennis is the same way."

Johnny thought for a minute and then realized she was correct. You couldn't see Dennis's flesh in a mirror, but you could see his clothes and hair. The realization that his look in a mirror was identical to his son's calmed him significantly, and he was able to say, "Come on. Let's go back to bed."

Jenna arrived early the next afternoon, about 4:00. "Hello? Anyone here?" She asked when she didn't quickly either Dracula, Jonathan, or Mavis.

Dracula had heard her call, and was the first to greet her, "Welcome to Hotel Transylvania, Jenna," he said smiling as he hugged her. Ever since he had first met Jenna, Dracula had taken a liking to this girl who reminded him a lot of his own daughter. But now he could sense something different about her.

"Hey, Drac. How you been?" asked Jenna, who deliberately kept her mouth narrow.

"I've been well. How have you been?"

"I have so much to tell you. And Mavis."

"Really? I take it that you have had a long journey, so why don't I allow you to freshen up and we can meet later."

"That sounds good. And I really need to talk to Johnny, anyway."

"I think he has something to tell you as well." Dracula allowed Jenna to leave and he began to ponder what he thought he saw. When Jenna zinged with Wilbur, he had suspected that Jenna and Jonathan had a lot more in common than he previously suspected. This was only confirmed when he and Mavis called their father shortly after she left the hotel after her first visit. Mavis was the one who had let it slip that Jenna had zinged with the werewolf to her father. Although Mike was nervous about that; it wasn't due to the fact that Jenna also zinged with a monster. Dracula's final thought as he walked up the stairs in the lobby was, _Is it possible that Jenna and Johnny are even more alike? Could they both have become vampires?_

Jenna went to her room to take a bath. After that she went to see her sister-in-law. "Mavis, it's Jenna," she said while knocking on the door.

"Oh, hi Jenna. How have you been?"

"Good. Where's Johnny?"

"He is out with my father right now. Why?"

"I've got so much I need to tell you, but I think I need to tell him, too."

"Let's go get him."

The two ladies went to go find Dracula and Jonathan. They were in the banquet room trying to see how they wanted it to be set up for the wedding.

"Jenna, it is so good to see you," Jonathan said as he hugged his sister.

"Yeah, I just got in a little bit ago."

"So, how was your trip?"

"Long."

"Anything interesting happen?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Jenna said with a chuckle that briefly exposed something she was trying to keep hidden.

"Why are you being so secretive?"

Jenna looked at Johnny's mouth intrigued. She noticed the fangs in his mouth, and also understood that they were alike in what had happened to them since she left the hotel a few months ago. "Oh. I see," she said softly.

"You see what?"

"I see you've had something interesting happen to you in the last month, too."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Jonathan James Loughran."

"My full name? I'm in trouble."

"Tell me!" Jenna demanded. What Jonathan didn't realize, but Mavis and Dracula did was that Jenna had briefly displayed a 'monster face'.

"Yeah, it actually happened last night." Jenna let out a smile exposing her mouth as well. "You too?" he asked.

"Yeah." Jenna confirmed as she revealed that she also had two fangs in her mouth."

"OK, then I think we can rule out Johnny being possessed," Mavis said to her father, who nodded.

Dracula said, "If it happened to you too, Jenna, that means that you have some vampire blood in you. Somewhere."

"Yeah. It's way back on mom's side, but it's there. Mom's family comes from eastern Hungary, just outside of Transylvania. It's like ten generations back." Jenna thought back to what Dracula had told her about Dennis; that normally a vampire must grow their fangs before five or they will never come. "But I thought that it didn't happen by the time your five it wasn't gonna happen?"

"No, not necessarily," Dracula said softly, "the more diluted the blood is, the longer it can take to manifest itself. But it is very rare if you are more than two generations removed from the last vampire."

"But me and Jenna both?" Jonathan asked as he thought out loud. "When did it happen to you?"

"Two nights after that eclipse."

Jonathan thought back remembering what Dracula had said about a complete lunar eclipse; it causes all sort of interesting things to happen, especially to vampires and other monsters. "What exactly happened?" he inquired. He still didn't remember much from the previous night when he had sprouted his fangs.

"I went out shopping with Katie (She appears in my story _The Ties that Bind_ , accompanying Jenna to the airport to pick up Mavis and Jonathan when they meet his family for the first time), and some guy came up and tried to carjack us. I had gotten out, but I guess she wasn't moving quickly enough. So he pulled out a knife and went towards her, like he was going to hurt her. That's when I snapped."

"You snapped too?"

"Yeah. It just took over all of a sudden. I don't even know how to describe it. I heard this voice in my head, and then there was, like a loud growl. As soon as I stopped, these two fangs popped out." Jenna thought for a moment about Katie's reaction. "My girlfriend still hasn't talked to me since, even though I might have saved her life. She can't believe it. I went to see her the next day and drop her the things she bought, but was still too scared to see me."

"Wait," Jonathan said with his mouth wide, "you heard a voice too?" Jenna nodded. Jonathan followed up, "Do you remember what it said?"

"Yeah. It said embrace your fear."

Jonathan gasped at it. He figured that the voice he heard was telling him exactly what he needed to do to protect his friends, and Jenna had the exact same thing happen to her as well. About half a minute later, Jonathan said, "Well, that's kind of what happened to me."

"What?" Now it was Jenna inquiring. "What happened to you?"

"When we found out your flight was delayed, we went to Wilbur's bachelor party. But those damned bats who attacked us on Dennis's last birthday came back. They had kidnapped me about a month ago, and now they were going to try and kill Wilbur."

"They kidnapped you?"

"Yeah."

"When?"

"The night after the eclipse. We hadn't heard from Vlad in a while, so we went to check on him. When we got there we found that someone had killed him. That's when the demons kidnapped me, but my family came to my rescue," Johnny said as he hugged Mavis and knew he would have to thank Dennis later, but then realized that he still hadn't told his son about his change.

"Then last night they were trying to kill Wilbur?"

"Yeah."

"But I take it they didn't?"

"No. They came close, but that's when I snapped too." Johnny didn't really know how else to put it. "Frank saw the whole thing. I don't really remember what happened after they threw me and I hit a tree. I woke up this morning and thought it was just a dream, but these fangs are still here. I still don't believe it."

Mavis asked, "So you're both vampires now?"

"I guess so, but the blood is so diluted, that I don't know how powerful we'll be."

Dracula was next to speak, "I think I have an answer on that. Quickly to my library."

The group continued to the library, but the made a stop to pick up someone first. Jenna insisted on telling her favorite nephew, Dennis. "Dennis, I have something to show you," she said opening her mouth wide.

"Whow! You have fangs like me?" Dennis asked smiling widely at his favorite aunt.

"Sure does," Jonathan said with a wide smile that also revealed his fangs, "and so do I."

Dennis was confused and excited at the same time. "Cool, dad. Now we can fly for real."

"Slow down, Denisovich," Dracula said chuckling at his vampson. "He hasn't even tried it yet."

The group continued to the library where Dracula I pulled out a book on dhampirs After Jonathan had proposed to Mavis, Dracula had begun to gather any literature about both turning humans into vampires and dhampirs, since he was unsure if they would wish to turn Jonathan. Dracula began to tell his family, "You see the vampire blood can be awoken while young, under age five, or after and I quote, 'a moonless night that shouldn't be.'"

"So the eclipse?" Johnny asked, trying to determine what else the book could be referring to.

"Exactly. When our strength returned, the vampire blood in you started to resurge. It just needed a spark to take over."

"But why?" Jenna asked also trying to figure out what even made this possible.

Dracula realized who his best ally in trying to explain everything would be. "Denisovich, do you remember when you felt your power?"

"'Cebause they hurt Winnie."

"And you came to her defense?"

"Yeah?"

"I get it now," Jenna said with a gasp, "the most powerful spark is when you come to the defense of someone you care about. That's why when my best friend was attacked, I snapped, and when Wilbur was attacked, Johnny snapped."

"Make sense," Mavis said. "But what does the eclipse have to do with this?"

"Mavis, do you remember how weak you felt during it?" Jonathan asked as he wrapped his left arm around his wife.

"Yeah"

"Same thing," Dracula said. "Your vampire blood didn't resurge until it was over, and so did theirs. Had they not been provoked, it would have simply gone back to being dormant, until the next eclipse."

"I guess that make sense," Jenna said, "but now how to I tell Wilbur, and what will he think?"

"I don't think that will be a problem," Dracula said. "Just show him the fangs, and I think he'll understand. After all, he saw it happen to Johnny."

"I hope you're right, because I love him so much. I hope he will still like me."

"It didn't hurt your brother and me, so I think you'll be fine," Mavis said as she kissed him.

Jenna left to go tell Wilbur, and she hoped Mavis was right.

Johnny stayed with Dracula and Mavis and asked, "But why didn't it take over when I was kidnapped?"

"Self-preservation is powerful," Dracula said, "but coming to the defense of someone you care about it even more so. You defended Wilbur because of his feelings for your sister. So, in effect, you were defending her."

"There is one other thing. I thought I recognized one of the bats that was threatening Wilbur?"

"You did?" Dracula asked."

"Yeah, I think it was Bela."

"Bela?" Mavis said. "You mean the Bela who tried to kill you before Vlad stopped him?"

"I think so."


	13. Training Day

Chapter 13

Training Day

Jenna left for the werewolves' lair while Johnny, Mavis, and Drac were still all talking. "What do I tell Wilbur?" the thought kept repeating in her head. She remembered what Drac had said about just showing him, since he saw Johnny get transformed also. She was still unsure of this as the hearse pulled up to their home but thought, "No time like the present. Better be like Nike and just do it."

She walked up to their door, but saw Wilbur sitting in a tree next to the house. At the sight of her, he instantly jumped down to meet her. "My love. I have missed you so much," he said. "I am so glad you're back. I have to tell you something."

"Is it about my brother?"

"How do you know about that?"

"He told me." Jenna opened her mouth in a wide smile exposing her fangs. "It happened to me, too about a month ago."

"But, I don't understand. How? Why?"

"The same reason Johnny did. One of my friends was attacked, and I rushed to her defense. She still hasn't talked to me since. She must be still too scared."

"So Johnny told you everything?"

"Yes." The two shared a deep kiss. "I wasn't sure how you would take this. I thought you only loved me because I was human."

"Don't be silly. I would love you no matter what." This time it was Wilbur leaning in to kiss her. "This just makes things," he searched for the right words, "more interesting."

"I'll bet." Jenna stayed with Wilbur, and showed her new fangs to the rest of his family. Winnie was the most surprised. She still couldn't believe what Wilbur said about Johnny, now here was Jenna with the same thing happening to her. Jenna addressed her confused look, "I know Winnie, but I am still the same person. Did Dennis change after his fangs came out?"

"No, we got closer."

"And I hope your brother and I also get closer."

Jenna stayed there until shortly before sunrise. It was Wanda who pointed out that it was nearly dawn. "Jenna, I'd love you to stay, but the sun will be up soon."

"What does that ma-" she started to say before she remembered, "Oh, I forgot."

When Jenna got back to the hotel she found Drac, still talking to Mavis. "I see you are back. How did Wilbur take the news?" Dracula asked.

"You were right. It didn't matter. He still loves me as much as ever."

Mavis was glad to hear this as well. "The plan for tomorrow is to see how your blood compares to ours, and Dennis's."

Jenna was curious about this also. Had the vampire blood taken over? Or was she more like her nephew, a half-breed? Either way, she wanted to know.

The next night, Jenna and Johnny had blood samples drawn in the infirmary. Johnny, yet again, passed out when the needle entered his skin. This was met by laughter from everyone else, including Jenna who was next. "For a vampire, how can you not stand needles and blood?"

"Shut up." This was Johnny's normal comeback to his siblings when they made fun of him. "I want to see what you do when they stick you." Jenna only flinched slightly when the needle was inserted into her arm.

"That's how you deal with it. Don't look at the needle."

The infirmary had blood samples on record of Dracula, Mavis, Dennis both before and after his fangs, and Johnny before also. To everyone's surprise, their blood was somewhere between Dennis's post fangs and the pure bloods'."

"How is that possible, when we are at most 5% vampire?"

"I am not sure," the doctor answered, "but when you were provoked, the vampire blood must have taken over. Jenna, you are even closer to Mavis, than Johnny is to Dracula. I am not sure if it is because you are both girls, or if it has been almost a month since it happened."

Mavis looked at Jenna smiling and said, "That's because girls are better monsters than boys." Drac and Johnny both shook their heads.

The doctor continued, "That's possible, but I think we should test you two in about another month to see if this is still the case."

The whole group left the infirmary and headed to the pool. There was something Johnny was now dying to try, and with Jenna here, the timing seemed perfect. "Drac, will you help us?" Johnny asked.

"Of course, my boy, what do you want?"

"I want to know if I can fly."

"Certainly."

The group changed into their swimsuits. Johnny wore the striped one he had, while Jenna sported a bikini. Jenna was first to ask how it worked.

"The truth is it is mostly mental," Drac answered. "You have to feel like a bat, and it will happen."

"But what does a bat feel like?"

"You have to find that on your own," Mavis answered. "But after the first time, it gets easier. Now I don't even think about it, I just do it."

Jenna jumped from the spring board trying to transform, but nothing happened. She landed in the water with a large splash when she landed flat on her stomach.

"Nice belly flop, sis," Johnny said razzing her.

"Let's see you do better." Johnny jumped, but also failed. "You suck too."

Johnny went to his normal comeback, "Shut up."

They tried from the springboard twice more each, but failed each time. Dennis suggested something. "Higher, like the tower."

Johnny knew what his son was referring to, but Jenna was clueless. Johnny got his phone and showed her the video of him falling towards the ground, but Drac catching him at the last minute. Mavis and Jenna both gave Drac a dirty look for putting his grandson in such danger, but Dennis smiled.

Jenna was take up by the high dive monster, and her knees began to shake. She was deathly afraid of heights. "Get me down from here!"

"Jenna, just try it," Mavis said as she turned into a bat and flew to the top. "I won't let you get hurt. I promise."

Jenna now felt a little more confident. She was still scared, but with Mavis encouraging her, she jumped. She fell about halfway down to the water, when urged by Mavis's encouragement, she turned into a bat, and flew up past the roof. Mavis followed her, trying to make her feel more comfortable. "This is awesome," she said as they soared past the clouds, before looking down. "I think that is enough." They descended and landed. Mavis turned back into her human form, but Jenna was still not sure how to.

"Just think you're normal," Mavis said. With this, Jenna turned back into herself. The two girls hugged, and Dennis went over to his aunt as well.

"You're the coolest, Aunt Jenna."

"No, you're still cooler. You figured it out all on your own." Dennis blushed when he heard this.

Not to be outdone, Johnny was now ready to try. The first time, he insisted on doing it by himself. He hit the water so hard on his stomach it made a large splash. His belly was now deep crimson.

"Now who's doing the epic belly flop?" Jenna teased her brother.

"Shut up."

The next try was done with Dennis with him, acting similar to what Mavis had done for his sister. It worked as no sooner had he jumped, that he changed and took off. Everyone on the ground, including Jenna all changed also, and joined him in the sky. They did some acrobatic moves, but mostly focused on the basics of flying. Jenna asked, "Can we go to Wilbur's?"

"Of course," Drac answered.

The group was at the werewolves within five minutes. Winnie was outside and recognized Dennis first. As soon as he landed and changed back, she tackled him. "Dennis, my zing. I missed you," she said while licking him.

"I missed you too, Winnie."

He finished saying this and all the other bats landed and changed back. "All of you?" Winnie asked.

"Yep," Johnny said. "All of us."

"Where's Wilbur?" Jenna asked. No sooner has she said it, that Wilbur came out of the house. "My love."

"I see you figured out how to fly. And I love that swimsuit." Jenna blushed as he hugged her.

"Do you want us to stay?" Mavis asked.

"No, you guys can go."

Dennis asked if he could stay, and both his parents agreed. He would serve as Jenna's help on the way back, if she needed it. Johnny, Mavis and Drac all flew home, with Drac leaving the zingers on the roof as he went into his study. After ten minutes on the roof, Johnny finally asked his wife, "Are you really cool with this?"

"Yes, Johnny. I was willing to transform you. The fact that it happened this way doesn't matter."

"Can you show me one more thing?" he said as he kissed her.

"Anything."

"How does that shapeshifting thing work?"

Mavis smiled and turned into a mouse. "There are only a few things I can turn into, and a mouse is the easiest. It's like when you turn into a bat. You just have to focus on it." She turned back to normal, and Johnny kissed her again.

He focused on a mouse, but nothing happened. "Oh, well. There's always tomorrow." The two hugged one more time, as they noticed Dennis and Jenna coming back, but they weren't alone. Someone was following them.

Dracula was reviewing the book on dhampirs, when he heard a disturbing sound. Something was coming, and he wasn't sure if it was friend of foe. But, he knew regardless, they would find out soon enough.


	14. The Ancestor

Chapter 14

The Ancestor

We introduce two new characters in this chapter, and answer some of the lingering questions, and open some new ones. As far as I know, Jacob and Karen are original to me, but if anyone had thought of them first or a similar role of characters, please pm me and I will be happy to give credit for whoever was first. Also, if anyone knows what Linda's maiden last name really was, please pm me as well. I made up something, but if the actual one is out there, I'd like to use it.

* * *

When Dracula felt the sensation that a powerful force was heading for the hotel, he headed for the roof, where he knew Mavis and Johnny were. When he came up, Johnny was first to ask, "Drac, what's a matter? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Not a ghost, but something is following Jenna and Dennis."

Now Mavis was concerned, "What is it?"

"I am not sure, but I only hope it is friendly."

Jenna and Dennis saw their family on the roof and joined them. Jenna was first to see the look of panic on Mavis's face. "Mavis, what is it?"

"Something is right behind you. And dad thinks it is very powerful."

"Did we lead it here?"

"Even if you did, we will find a way to deal with it," Drac said trying to reassure her.

About ten minutes later what was following them landed inside the castle, but went to the lobby. Dracula went down, because as the hotelier, it was easiest for him to investigate. Everyone else went inside to Dracula's library, where they would watch on surveillance to see what it was. Drac was stunned when he thought he recognized who it was. The stranger spoke first to Dracula.

"Dracula, is that you?"

"It is."

"Holy rabies, I haven't seen you since before Martha died. How have you been?" The new arrival was a vampire, slightly older than Dracula, but had striking jet black hair, in a style similar to Elvis Presley's.

Dracula was still unsure if it was indeed who he thought, but definitely thought it was him. "Jacob, is that you?"

"So you do remember me? I didn't realize this was your place, or I would have come by decades ago. I really missed you. And Martha. But not as much as my sister." Jacob's sister, Karen, was one of Martha's best friends. They had went to Hawaii together on vacation when Dracula met her, and Dracula and Karen became good friends as well. Jacob was never completely certain of Dracula the way the two women were, but trusted his sister's judgement enough not to object.

"Jacob, how long has it been, 120 years? More than that?"

"At least. I know I didn't get along great with you, but I did always wonder where you disappeared to after Martha. I can't even think was Karen will say when I tell her that I find you."

"I wonder what Mavis will think."

"Who is Mavis?"

"My daughter. They're on the roof. I think you should meet them."

"Them?"

"Yes, Mavis, her husband Johnny, and their son Denisovich. Johnny's sister is here also." The two headed for the roof, but when they didn't see them, Drac used his sight to find them. "They're in my study. Come on." The two went inside.

Jacob thought he recognized Jenna first. "Excuse me, but are you related to Linda Johnston?"

"Yes, that is my mother," Jenna said not sure of what to make of this.

"How do you know our mother?" Johnny was now also confused.

Jacob turned to Jenna, "You have her hair and eyes. You are even more beautiful than the pictures I have of you."

Jenna now started to feel creeped out. "How do you have pictures of us? Have you been stalking us?"

Jacob now saw the fangs in both of their mouths and was both proud and nervous. He showed them his wallet with pictures of Jenna, Johnny, and their brothers. "It is because I am your great-times-eight-grandfather. I zinged with a human more than 250 years ago. But at that time, it was a forbidden love, so we hid it from everyone. None of our children ever developed vampire abilities, so they stayed with her. But I did whatever I could to defend my descendants and their children. That was until your mother asked me to stay away from you."

Jenna was now even more confused. "How can you still look not a day over 50, but have been in love more than 250 years ago?"

Dracula stepped into answer, "Jenna, I am 540, Mavis is 131. Vampires are almost immortal, unless they are killed. We don't die of natural causes."

"It is true, Jenna. Forgive me, but I never introduced myself. My name is Jacob. I know this must be a shock, but please believe me."

Dracula then confirmed as much as he could. "I still remember his zing. Her name was Juliet. I always thought that was ironic after I read the Shakespearian tragedy. They had two children." He turned to Johnny, "But I never thought for a second that you were related to him."

"So Johnny is also my grandson?"

"Yes, and that would make Dennis your great-times-nine-grandson," Drac confirmed trying to calm Mavis who was still concerned. "Mavis, it is all true. This is the brother of one of your mother's best friends."

Dennis trusted his as soon as his Papa Drac said this, and went up to him. Mavis tried to stop him, but Dennis was too fast. He was in Jacob's arms before she could stop him saying, "Can I call you Papa Jacob?"

Jacob now had a tear in his eye. He thought he recognized the older bat flying back vaguely, but he never thought he would find this. "Please do. I am so happy that I found all of you." He turned to Drac and Mavis, "And I know that my sister will be very happy that I found you two."

Jenna was still a little confused and asked, "But why has mom never told us of you?"

"She asked me to stay out of your lives. I never understood why, because none of my grandchildren ever asked that before. I thought it had something to do with your father, but she never told me, and I respected her enough to stay away."

Jenna was now fighting back tears, but understood what she had found when researching they family tree back so far. "So you met our great-times-eight-grandmother in Hungary?"

"Yes. We were passionately in love, but at that time, humans didn't approve of monsters, even though most never attacked humans unless threatened. But I see you both got your fangs. I'm surprised by that, since none of our children did."

"We did," Johnny said. "Jenna got hers first, and I got mine three nights ago. Drac's been helping us train." Johnny then turned to Mavis. "I believe him. Your dad wouldn't bring you to someone who would hurt either one of us." He then turned back to Jacob, "grandpa, this is my wife, Mavis."

Jacob then reached for Mavis's hand and kissed it, "Charmed." He acted like a perfect gentleman, which began to calm her. She also knew that Johnny was correct about her father. He had sworn to her mother when she died that he would always protect her. He wouldn't break that promise. "If you'll excuse me, I think I better call my sister. She will be even more excited to meet you, Mavis. And especially you Denisovich."

Jenna corrected him, "His name's Dennis."

Drac answered, "That's not his vampire name."

Dennis then answered, "Papa Jacob can call me whatever he wants, 'cebause I know he loves me as much as Papa Drac."

"Thank you my little devil dog." Jacob answered. With that Jacob went to finish checking into the hotel. He then called his sister. "Karen, you will never believe who I just found. It is Dracula and his daughter." He waited until Karen stopped screaming in pure joy about this. "Yes, they are at the Hotel Transylvania. I also found two more of my grandchildren and you won't believe this. One of them is married to Dracula's daughter." Karen again could be overheard letting out a scream of pure joy. "Ok, sis. I will tell them. We will see you soon."

After hanging up the phone with Karen, Jacob went to the restaurant where Drac had said they would be. He didn't want to reveal too much, because he didn't want to spoil the surprise that Karen would surely bring with her to Mavis. She had a lot of birthdays to catch up on.

"So what did Karen have to say?" Drac asked his old friend.

"She is very excited to meet you. All of you," he turned to Mavis, "but especially you." Mavis was now blushing. "She has so much to catch up with you for." He then turned to Dennis, "And she will be very excited to see you. She always cared very deeply for your mother, but we just didn't know where they had went."

Mavis was beginning to feel more comfortable with Jacob and asked, "So when will she get here?"

"She will leave tomorrow at sundown. She would love to get here as soon as possible, but it is too close to sunrise. She should be here close to midnight."

Jacob retired for the day after this. He knew he would have a lot to explain to his sister, but nothing would be more important to him than his three new vampire grandchildren. He knew there was something about Jenna that looked very familiar when he started to follow them, but he still couldn't believe that he would be led to Drac and Mavis. Still the bigger surprise was that his grandchildren here were vampires also, or at least dhampirs. He hope that they would explain their awakenings in time, but knew someone who had been out of their lives for so long couldn't pry. He was surprised when he heard a knock on his door. "Who is it?"

"Papa Jacob, its Dennis."

"My little devil dog, please come in."

"Papa Jacob, I am so happy I found you."

"As am I my little buddy. And I know that your Aunt Karen will be even more excited to see you than I was. She was Mavis's devilmother, and promised to help your Grandma and Papa Drac raise her, and by extension, you."

Dennis had a wide smile on his mouth as he kissed his new Papa Jacob goodnight.


	15. Karen

Chapter 15

Karen

For the rest of the night, Jacob helped Jenna and Johnny with their training. Drac and Mavis also helped. Jenna was first to figure out a new trick. Mavis had taught her to levitate objects with her mind. After a while, she was able to control them almost as well as Mavis. Shortly before dawn, Wilbur came over to talk to his fiancée. He was surprised to see the new vampire as well.

"This is my grandfather," Jenna said trying to explain. "He followed us back from your place earlier, but I never dreamed of this."

"How do you do?" Jacob asked Wilbur. "I know this must be a shock, but it is true. I am her distant grandfather."

"I'm Wilbur. We are engaged."

A sense of pride engulfed Jacob. "So, when is the big day?"

"June 11th." Jenna answered. "And we would love you and your sister to come."

"I can't speak for Karen, but I have missed too much of your life, and wouldn't miss this for anything." Dawn broke shortly after this, and everyone went inside. They shared one last drink before retiring for the day. They knew someone else was coming the next evening, someone who was dying to see Drac and Mavis.

The next night began with everyone continuing their training. They started with flight training, with all six of them taking off and playing hide and go seek. Needless to say, the newest vampires were at a distinct disadvantage, but they all were enjoying themselves. Wilbur came over shortly before midnight, at which time, everyone returned to the roof to await Karen's arrival. They wouldn't have to wait long.

A bat came into view less than 20 minutes after they all returned to the roof. Jacob was about to identify her, when Drac recognized her. It was Martha's best friend, Karen. She quickly landed and joined to group. "My goodness, Drac, aren't you a sight for these old and sore eyes."

A large smile crossed Dracula's face, "Karen, how I have missed you. You were the one person I was the most eager to see."

"Then why didn't you tell me when you had went?"

"I couldn't risk exposing Mavis to the risk that my message to you would have been intercepted." Drac then pulled Mavis forward. "Karen, this is my-"

Karen cut him off before he could finish. "You must be Martha's child. You look exactly like her."

"Thank you," Mavis answered, "forgive me, but I am not sure who you are."

"I understand. My name is Karen, and I was your mother's BFF. We met shortly after we both turned 20, and had been friends ever since." The two women shared a hug. "I had always hoped I would be able to find you, but I never thought I would." She then turned to Dennis, "This must be your boy, then."

Johnny came up to her, "Yep, that's our Dennis."

Karen now look quizzically at him. "So you are Jacob's grandson, and married my BFF's daughter? Small world." Dennis approached the woman, and instantly trusted her. She picked him up and kissed him on the cheek. "Oh, my precious boy, I wish you grandmother could be here to see you. She would be so proud of you." She then turned to Mavis, "And of the woman you have become."

Mavis began to blush as Johnny put his arm around her. "Aunt Karen, is that ok?" Mavis asked.

"You can call me whatever you would like, my dear."

"Aunt Karen, what was my mother really like?"

"She was a gifted artist and poet. She loved to read and write. Actually we worked on a present for you together."

"What was it?" Mavis asked, even though she already had guessed the answer.

"It was a book for you on zinging. We both did the artwork, but your mother wrote the poetry. You were supposed to get it on your 118th birthday."

Mavis now had a tear running down her cheek, and Johnny's eyes were also staring to well up. "That was you also?" Mavis asked.

"Yes, but," Karen said turning to Johnny, "why are you getting worked up about that as well?"

It was Johnny who answered, "Because we met shortly before her 118th birthday, and shared our first kiss at her party. I was exposed as a human after that, but Mavis didn't care; she knew we were meant to be. But I rejected her then because of Drac. He had a look of pure panic on his face. My only regret that night was not being as strong as she was."

Mavis was now in a full sob. "Oh, Johnny." She said as she held him close.

Karen was now confused. "But if you rejected her love, how did you two reunite?"

Drac answered, "Because after that, I found Mavis on the roof clutching the book. She told me that she thought they had zinged. I felt terrible for getting in the way of them, so I went to go get him, and explained everything to him."

"Luckily Mavis is the forgiving kind," Johnny said, "I almost made the worst mistake of my life, but luckily fate was kind to me." Mavis and Johnny shared a kiss.

"But did I hear you say you were exposed as a human? But you have fangs?"

"I just got them like four days ago."

"After the eclipse?" Karen asked.

"How did you know about that?"

"Because, that's about the only way someone at your age could even be provoked to the point that fangs would come in."

"Yes," Johnny asked. "I was completely human until then. Mavis didn't care. And I still love her more and more for trusting me."

Karen then turned to Jenna and asked, "Are you also Jacob's grandchild?"

"Yes."

"How long ago did you get your fangs?"

"Almost three weeks ago now."

"I am so glad that you found your abilities." Karen then turned to Wilbur, "And who is this striking young werewolf?"

Jenna hugged Wilbur and said, "This is my beloved."

"Oh, I see. I am so happy for the both of you."

"Jacob then turned to his sister, "We have been invited to their wedding. It is on June 11th."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." They group stayed on the roof catching up until the night began to fade, and the sun was about to rise. Karen went to check into the hotel herself, while everyone else but the two ladies went to talk about the wedding."

"Jenna, have you given any thought to the dress you want?" Mavis asked.

"I always thought I had to be married in a white gown, until I saw how beautiful you looked in a black one." Jenna's hair had grown darker since her awakening, almost now a dark auburn. "When my hair was lighter, I though a dark gown wouldn't work, now I am not so sure."

"Well, if you liked the way my dress looked, why don't you at least try it on? We are about the same size."

"Mavis, I couldn't impose on you like that?"

"No imposition at all. In fact, I insist." The two women went to Mavis's room and Jenna began putting on the dress Mavis wore for her wedding. It fit her well enough, but it still seemed like something was missing. Mavis then found the spider web veil. "Holy rabies! Jenna, you look perfect."

Jenna was still looking in the mirror, but saw nothing. Mavis was able to shoot a video on her phone, which did capture her image. "Oh my goodness. Mavis, I love it."

Karen had finished checking in and had wanted to talk more with Mavis, and knocked on her door. "Mavis, I think we have more to catch up on."

"Aunt Karen, please come in." Karen entered the room and saw Jenna in the dress and was shocked at how beautiful it was on her. "Oh, Jenna, you look stunning."

Mavis pulled a picture from the video of her wedding that showed her in the exact same gown. "That gown was perfect for me, and it is only fitting that it is perfect for my sister, too."

Karen had a wide smile on her face. "Mavis, you were even more beautiful than you mother was on her wedding day. I just wish we had known then how to photograph vampires."

"Mavis, I couldn't use your wedding dress. This is something you should keep forever."

"And I will, but it looks as good on you as it did on me."

Jenna finally relented and agreed. "Mavis, can I ask you one more thing?"

"Anything, sis."

"It's about all of this vampire stuff. Is there anything else I need to be aware of?"

"Tons, but that is for another day. There will be plenty of time to train later. Right now, we need to get down with the guys."

Everyone reunited in the restaurant for cocktail hour. The group had grown to include Winnie as well who came to see Dennis. Karen inquired about her, "And who is this precious little werepup?"

"I'm Winnie. Dennis is my BFF."

"I hope maybe more than that one day, Karen said. This caused Dennis to blush, even though he hoped so also. "You two make a very cute couple."

The party broke up shortly after 8:00 and everyone retired for the day. The next night, Karen was able to explain shapeshifting in a way to Jenna that she was able to quickly master it. She was able to transform into a mouse and a rabbit. Later that night, the whole group went for a fly and didn't land until the sun was about to rise. Karen and Jacob would be leaving the next night, and everyone wanted to stay with them as long as possible.

The wedding was now inside of six weeks away, and final preparations were in full effect. Jenna would head back to home the day after tomorrow, but this would be the last time she would leave Transylvania. She would be back in five weeks, and would not leave Wilbur again. She would be bringing with her, all of her family, many were still unaware of her change. She still wasn't sure how to tell them. But one thought still bothered her. "Why did their mother not want Jacob in their lives?"


	16. Mike's Secret

Chapter 16

Mike's Secret

Three weeks had past since Johnny had learned of his ancestry. One thing still bothered him. Why had his mother not wanted him to know about Jacob? Why would she want to hide that from her children? Drac and Mavis couldn't figure it out either, but Drac kept speculating that she must have had her reasons. He was looking forward to seeing his mother at the wedding to confront her about this. But he still hadn't told his parents about his transformation. That all changed two weeks from everyone coming for the wedding.

Mavis and Johnny were sitting on the roof just staring at the beauty of the sky that night. Drac and Dennis were out doing flying drills. Then Johnny says, "I still haven't told them yet."

"Who, and what?" Mavis asked.

"My parents about any of this that has happened in the last few weeks."

"They are going to find out when they see you at the wedding. Why don't you just own it, and tell them now."

Johnny pondered this for a few minutes. He had wanted to tell his mother shortly after it happened, but after meeting Jacob, he wondered if he should. "Maybe mom won't be as understanding as I thought."

"Johnny, they're your parents. They'll love you no matter what."

"I thought that was the case, but now I am scared."

"You didn't think twice about trying to save Wilbur, but this scares you?"

Johnny know understood that sometimes you just have to go for it, and never mind the consequences. "Yeah, I think I'll give her a call later tonight."

"Ok, my love."

There was one other thing that concerned him about telling Linda. She always seemed a little pandering to Mavis. His father, on the other hand, showed respect to her and Drac. He treated them as he wanted to be treated, without trying to do anything differently than he did with his other in-laws. "Maybe dad is the one who should hear first," Johnny said.

"I don't think you can go wrong either way."

About an hour later, Johnny finally had the courage to call home. He was still hoping to get his mother. However it was his father who answered. "Hello," he said

"Hi, dad. Is mom there?"

"No, Johnny. She is getting her hair done for the wedding. She won't be back for a few hours."

Johnny was nervous about still proceeding, but figured he should just go for it. "Dad, I've got something to tell you."

"What is it my boy?"

"About a month ago, I think I became a vampire." The phone was silent, as his father was in shock. "Before Jenna came in, a bunch of the guys went out with Wilbur, and we were attacked."

"Is everyone ok?"

"Yeah, everyone was fine, other than me. I charged at the demons attacking us, and that's when it happened."

"Was that after the eclipse?"

"How do you know about that?"

Mike just realized he had said too much. "Nothing. Never mind."

"That's what Jacob's sister said as well."

Mike's face now turned white on his end of the line. "You met Jacob?" He asked stuttering.

"Yes. He found us while we were flying back from the werewolves' home. And how do you know about Jacob?"

"Does your mother know about any of this?"

"No, I don't think so."

Mike was still unsure of how much he should reveal, but since Johnny knew almost all of this anyway, there was no reason to hide it. "And you believe his story?"

"Yes. He had pictures of us from within the last few years." Johnny asked even more sternly, "How do you know about Jacob?!"

"I was the one who sent him the pictures."

Now it was Johnny who was stunned. Jacob had told them that he thought his mother was afraid of what his father might think, but now it was possible that it was the other way around. "You sent him the pictures?"

"Yes. I happened to find one of the emails he had sent your mother open on the computer. I was curious, and replied to it myself."

"But why didn't you say anything?"

"Because he asked me to keep silent on it to respect your mothers wishes, and I did."

"I can't believe this," Johnny was both confused and mad at his father.

"All I can figure, is similar to this shock in your mothers ancestry, there must be something in mine as well that she feared him finding out. But I don't know what it is."

They exchange goodbyes, and Johnny said that he would like to talk more with both of them about this when they came in for the wedding. "Jenna will also like to talk to you. I'm sure of that."

"Why would Jenna want to talk to me? What about?"

Now it was Johnny who realized he said too much. "Nothing. We need to talk when everyone gets here for the wedding."

"Ok, Johnny. Give my best to Mavis and Dennis as well."

"Bye, dad."

Johnny relayed most of the conversation with Mavis. She was in almost as much shock as he was. One question kept repeating in her mind. "Why wouldn't he tell you this?"

"He wouldn't say. Just that he wanted to respect mom's wishes."

"I can't wait until the wedding when we can all speak in person."

"Me too, but I'm also a little scared about that."

"Why?"

"I still didn't tell him about Jenna."

"Good. Let her explain it to them when she is ready."

"She'll have to at the wedding."

Dennis and Drac met them on the roof. "How was you day, honey?" Mavis asked.

"Fine, mommy."

"Even though he started much later in life than you," Drac said to Mavis, "he is almost ahead of where you were at this age." A large smile crossed Dennis's face.

"Drac, there is something that's been worrying me," Johnny started. "With the distant blood in my family, is there any chance that any of my nephews could still be change?"

"It's possible. Are any of them under eight?"

"Yes. Connor is only about six months older than Dennis."

"Is he the only one?"

"Yes. Troy is like 12, and Parker is almost 10."

"So, we better hope that Connor doesn't get provoked. With the eclipse two months ago, he is still vulnerable to being transformed, but as far as the others, it would be highly unlikely. It's been too long since the eclipse for someone of their age."

Dennis said that it would be cool if one of his cousins could be a vampire also, but Johnny cut him off. "Dennis, until Papa Jacob can explain this to their parents, it would be too shocking to them." Dennis immediately regretted thinking that.

Johnny had planned at the wedding to have a talk with his whole family, including his brothers and his in-laws. Now the only one he was truly afraid to tell was his mother. "Why didn't she tell me any of this? Why hide it?" He hoped the answers would come out, but at the same time was afraid of what he might find out. He did some digging on , but couldn't find much on his father's prominence past his great-grandparents. This troubled him more than anything else. What would he find?


	17. Confessions

Chapter 17

Confessions

Jenna had arrived back to the hotel for the wedding, which was now only three days away. Almost everyone else would be arriving the next day, except for Karen, who would be there the following day. When Jenna arrived, it was Mavis who greeted her. "Jenna, how I have missed you."

"Me two," Jenna said as the women embraced, "but this is the last time I will be leaving."

Mavis had texted Johnny who was on his way down with Dennis. Dennis entered first, as a bat. "Aunt Jenna! I got something to show you."

"Later," Mavis said, "she just got here. Give her a minute to get settled." Dennis looked upset, but relented. "Where is your father?" As if on cue, Johnny came down the stairs on foot. "Honey, look what the bat dragged in."

"Hey, sis. How was your trip?"

"Fine. No issues this time." Johnny had a look on his face to suggest that there was something else that he wanted to tell her. "How was your last month?"

"Interesting."

"Me two. I figured out a new trick." She called over to one of the zombie porters and asked him to help her, and he immediately obliged. "Watch this," she said as she looked deep into the zombie's eyes. Within a few second, the zombie started to do the moonwalk. He stopped shortly after, at which time, Jenna said, "Thank you for your help." The zombie nodded and walked away, despite the fact he had no recollection of what had happened.

"What was that about?" Johnny asked.

"I figured out how to hypnotize people."

"Like Papa Drac?" Dennis asked.

"Exactly. I wasn't trying to at first, but I was looking into one of my friends eyes as she was telling me a story. That's when she stopped in the middle of a word, and her mind went completely blank. After I looked away, she resumed as if nothing had happened."

"Cool," Dennis said.

"Dennis, why don't you go and see if your Papa Drac wants to train with you today?" Johnny asked. He looked disappointed, but left to find Dracula, transforming into a bat. "Sis, there is something I need to tell you before mom and dad arrive."

"I thought there was something. Anyway, I have something to tell you as well."

"Let me go first." Jenna nodded at him. "I think dad would be better to tell first."

Jenna was almost stunned now. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," he said. He didn't want to expose the fact that he had revealed his secret to his father already, "Something says that we should trust him."

"Ok, Johnny. I trust you."

"So, what did you have to say?"

"I think I should wait until dad gets here, because it involves him as well."

"Did you find something about his ancestry?"

"How did you guess that?"

"He said he couldn't find anything past a couple of generations, but figured it had something to do with that."

"That's exactly what it is, but let me wait until we're all together." Jenna turned to Mavis, "I think you and your father need to hear it as well." Everyone agreed that they would wait until the next day when they could confront Mike about everything, even though he already knew about Johnny, and had a suspicion about Jenna.

The next morning, Mike, Linda, and the rest of the Loughran family arrived. Johnny had been able to talk to his father alone, and told him that he thought they should all talk first, before talking to Linda and the others. He agreed, and they arraigned for Linda to go to the spa for a massage. To relieve the stress from the trip, Mike told her. She went at which time, Mike and Johnny went to go see Jenna and Mavis. The group convened in Dracula's library and he also joined them.

Johnny was the first to speak. "Before we start, there is something that I got to ask you. Why were you always so cool with Mavis and me?"

"Your mother," Mike answered.

"Mom?" Jenna said questioningly.

"Well, maybe more grandpa. He was against us dating at first. But like a line in your mother's favorite song says 'What's meant to be will always find a way.' Was there anything that I could say to either of you, that would have made you two not fall in love?"

"Nothing," Johnny said. "I knew she was the one when we first met." A large smile crossed Mavis's face, and the two hugged.

"Your mother and I were the same way. Her father didn't see what I saw in the future of computers. He didn't think I would be able to provide for his baby girl. What they say is true. If you're one step ahead of the crowd, you're a visionary; but if you're two steps ahead, you sound crazy. My dream then, was that one day everyone would have a computer in the palm of their hand." The group looked at him still confused, but Mike pulled out his phone. "Say hello to my dream. Johnny, I see you have fangs now like Mavis."

"Yep, I got them just before Jenna came in last time."

"And, Jenna, I know you have something you want to tell me as well."

Jenna was now nervous. "How did you know that?" She turned to Johnny, "You didn't tell him, did you?" She said growling at him, not realizing she just exposed her secret to her father.

"I see," Mike said. "So that's what it was." Jenna blushed with embarrassment. "It is nothing to be worried about. The only thing Johnny told me when he called me two weeks ago, was you had something to tell me. He didn't say it was this."

"That wasn't the only thing," Jenna said, "we met one of our ancestors on mom's side."

"I know. Johnny told me that." Jenna again was mad at her brother for keeping this a secret. "But, the truth is that I had known of Jacob for a long time, maybe 30 years." Jenna had gone from angry to stunned. "I saw an email he had sent mom, and I replied to it myself. I had been sending him pictures of you kids, since then, but he wanted to honor your mom's wishes and stay away."

"But why didn't you tell us after Johnny married Mavis?" Jenna asked.

"I nearly did. I asked Jacob what to do when I heard about your engagement, but he insisted that I not tell you. It was up to your mother, and I think she completely forgot, or wanted to forget about him. After last June, and Dennis's birthday, I was shocked that she wouldn't tell you kids. So when will Jacob be here?"

"Later this evening," Johnny answered.

"Good, I wanted for so long to meet him in person."

The group broke up after this. Jenna still hadn't revealed a fact that scared her more than anything else, but wanted to tell Jacob as well.

That night, the group reconvened, including Jacob and Dennis. Upon seeing Jacob, Mike hugged him, as he wished Linda was there, but the kids had wanted to tell Linda later. Mike repeated almost everything that he had said earlier in the day to the group. Jenna was finally ready to tell everyone what she had found out.

"I think I know why mom wanted to keep you out of our lives, Jacob." Jenna said

"Why?"

"Because dad is related to Abraham Van Helsing."

"You mean the vampire hunter?" Jacob asked.

"Exactly. Like 7 generations back. I think she worried that if you found out, you would have felt betrayed."

"Why? What is in the past, is just that. People change. I hadn't had an unfriendly encounter with a human in almost 50 years. No one is hunting us anymore." Linda had found the group and started to knock on the door. "Should I leave?"

"No," Johnny said, "she is going to find out soon enough anyway." He opened the door, and Linda went in. She wasn't sure who the newest vampire was, but she knew he looked familiar form somewhere.

"Do I know you?" Linda asked to Jacob.

"I think you do mom," Jenna said. "This is Jacob." A panicked look crossed Linda's face. "Mom, don't freak out. We know everything." Johnny raised his lips exposing his fangs, and Jenna followed suit. "And so does he."

Linda was now completely stunned, "What do you mean 'everything?'"

"Everything," Jenna answered. "Including dad's prominence."

"So he knows that your father is a van Helsing?"

"I do," Jacob said, "and I suspected as much." Linda was even more stunned. "I never had complained about any of my grandkids choices before, and I wasn't going to start now. Love will always find a way."

Linda couldn't believe how well Jacob was taking the news. "Do any of your brothers know this?" She asked them.

"Not yet, but I think we need to tell them." Johnny said. They went to gather both of their brothers and their wives and kids. "Guys, I think there is something you need to know." Once again, Johnny and Jenna raised their lips exposing their fangs. "It happened to us, and it could happen to you guys after a lunar eclipse as well." They were all shocked. "Drac thinks that it has been long enough since the last eclipse for all of you, except for Connor. With distant vampire blood, the age is 8."

Brett, who was Connor's father was now worried. "What do you mean 'distant vampire blood?'"

Jacob stepped up and said, "That would be me. I am your great-times-eight-grandfather." He also exposed his fangs. "That you make you three also my great-times-nine, just like Dennis," he said to the other children.

Just like Dennis did, Connor was the most trusting and hugged his newfound grandpa. Even though he had picked on Dennis in the past, since Dennis saved him and his brothers, the two had grown closer, while he grew further apart from Parker and Troy. The other two eventually followed suit and also hugged Jacob. Connor then asked if it what Johnny had said was right, that he could be a vampire like Dennis.

"It is possible," Drac said, "but at your age, you would need to be really provoked. Similar to how Dennis was, and also the way Johnny and Jenna were. It is also possible for the rest of you, as well. However, it would have to be within a month of a total lunar eclipse."

"So should we try to prevent it?" Brett asked.

"There is no preventing it." Dracula said, "If it happens, it happens."

The wives looked the most uncertain about all of this, but Johnny attempted to calm his sisters-in-law. "You just have to roll with it."

Connor said that he wished it would happen to him, and that would be cool. This terrified his parents who still remembered back to Dennis's last birthday party, and what Vlad had tried to do to Dennis. It was Mavis who told his parents that they can't worry about it. As the song says, "What's meant to be will always find a way." Linda smiled at the reference, but few others even knew the song in question.

Everyone relented and had started to accept everything they had been told. They all knew the whole truth, except for Karen. One side of the family having vampire blood, the other having the blood of vampire hunters. Jenna still hadn't told Wilbur about her father, but she doubted that he would care.

There was only one guest still who hadn't come in for the event, and that was Karen. Jacob was still slightly worried about what his sister would think about his family's revelations. But, with the wedding the night after next, there wasn't any time to worry. Final preparations were in full swing. The rehearsal would be the next night, and they could talk then.


	18. Another Eclipse?

Chapter 18

Another Eclipse?

The next night, everyone was preparing for the rehearsal of the wedding. Karen had arrived shortly after sunset, and everyone was thrilled to meet her. Kent, Johnny's other brother, spent most of the day before with his girlfriend Kelsie, the blue octopus monster. Shortly before everyone was to go down for the rehearsal, Kent discovered something that scared him. He went to see Johnny to discuss it.

"Johnny, I gotta talk to you," Kent said as he pounded on the door. "It's urgent!"

"One sec," Johnny said as Mavis went into the bathroom to finish getting ready. "OK, come on in." Kent entered the room almost as white as a ghost. "Kent, what's a matter? You look terrified."

Kent handed Johnny his cell phone. "Look at this."

Johnny looked at phone and started to read an article from the McDonald Observatory. "Full Moon on June 13th; Lunar eclipse definite, with 40% chance of total lunar eclipse."

Mavis heard Johnny reading, and rushed out with her hair still a mess. "What?! Is that right?"

Johnny said, "I think we need to tell your dad ASAP." The three went to find Dracula who was in the ballroom finishing preparations. "Drac, my brother just showed me some troubling news. There will be an eclipse Monday, with a 40% chance of being a total eclipse."

Since the last eclipse, Drac had reviewed lunar eclipses and found out that only a certain type of eclipse was dangerous to monsters. "The moon has to pass completely in the dark shadow of the Earth. The moon simply passing thru the penumbra will not affect anything; it must be completely in the umbra, and disappear."

"But what about my nephews?" Kent asked. "Could this open the window for them to be changed?"

"I am not sure," Drac answered. "With the highly diluted vampire blood as you have, it is almost impossible to tell. Connor will still be susceptible to it anyway. As far as the other two, I don't know."

This seemed to make everyone more nervous than they already were. The biggest concern was wether or not to tell Brett and his wife. Mavis was the one who suggested not, since there was nothing that could be done if it happened, so the best we could hope is that nothing would happen. Everyone agreed with her logic.

* * *

The rehearsal and dinner went well, except it seemed that Brett's wife, Samantha, already knew about the upcoming eclipse. She seemed to be extremely nervous about something, suggesting to Linda that they might leave after the wedding, and not stay for Dennis's birthday party. Linda, as usual, was unaware of most things going on around her and questioned why, but Sam didn't elaborate. It seemed that Mike had a sense something potentially dangerous might happen, but similarly to Johnny just rolled with the punches.

Winnie and Dennis spent most of the time sitting next to each other. Winnie was to be the flower girl, and Dennis to be the ring bearer. Everyone thought they made a beautiful couple, especially the parents of the groom and Johnny and Mavis. Secretly all of them plus Drac and Mike had hoped that they would zing one day, since they seemed perfect for each other.

There was a small amount of dancing after dinner, with Karen and Drac dancing together, as well as all the other couples. It seemed that there might be the potential for Drac to have a second zing, and Karen hadn't yet found hers. They danced on the floor and up the walls. Mavis quipped to Johnny that it looked odd with her father dancing with another vampire close to his age.

Johnny answered, "Maybe it is possible to have a second. Or maybe your father is simply being polite. Either way, they look really great together. And it is nice to see your father with a smile on his face." Mavis nodded in agreement. Then Johnny added, "And I'd like to try that."

"You mean dancing on the ceiling?"

"Yes. I haven't tried to climb on walls yet. But Dennis can. Could we try it later?"

"I'd love to. Anytime you're ready."

"Thanks, my zing," Johnny said as he kissed her on the forehead.

The biggest star of the night was Karen, as everyone had questions for her about Martha. Karen had brought a small portfolio of some of Martha's work. Linda, who was an artist as well was in awe of her ability saying, "It's a shame that the world lost her talent far too young." None of Johnny's siblings knew of Linda's talent, as she kept it hidden from them. Mike picked up his phone showing pictures that Linda had painted. She wasn't as gifted as Martha or Karen, but was a reasonably talented artist in her own right. For the rest of the night, Karen and Linda talked about techniques. This seemed to draw the two women closer together and for the first time, Linda treated a monster as a person, not something different.

Johnny said to Mavis upon seeing this, "So that's what it's gonna make her figure it out."

Mavis smiled and kissed him saying, "I hope so, because I really like your mother. She just needs to stop trying so hard around me, and my dad."

The party broke up shortly after 2:00. The fiancées wanted everyone to get plenty of rest, since they were going to try and have the party going all night tomorrow. Jenna said, "That's when we will really have something to celebrate. And coupled with the fact we have another shindig for the 13th as well, you better be ready to party." There was a loud cheer from the crowd, and most started making their way to their rooms for the night.

This included Mavis and Johnny. They were eager to try one thing that Johnny hadn't tried yet. Johnny put on some slow music and they began to dance around the floor. About a minute later, Mavis led him up the wall and Johnny didn't even notice. He didn't notice that they were on the ceiling until the song ended and Mavis let go of him. He panicked for a split second, before he realized that he was sticking there. Another song started to play, and they continued dancing on the ceiling. When that song ended, Johnny asked, "How bout a fly?"

"I'd love to." The two flew around for a good hour, chasing each other.

Shortly before they landed, Johnny looked at the moon thinking, "Who would have thought that a natural phenomenon like that could cause so much trouble." Mavis saw him lost in thought after they landed and asked him about it. Johnny said, "How is it that something so simple can make so many things act funny."

"I don't know Johnny, but it makes things more," she thought for a second to try and find the right word, "interesting."

Johnny began to laugh. "That's what you said after I got changed. I don't know if I should hope that my nephews can experience this, or if they shouldn't."

"I don't think it matters either way, Johnny. Speaking of which, what is going on between Connor and Dennis?"

"I don't know. Ever since Dennis saved him and his brothers they became much better friends. They talk on the phone almost everyday. I think he wants to be just like Dennis now, and that scares me. His mother, Sam, has always been a little of a hypochondriac." Mavis no idea what that meant, so Johnny explained, "That means she worries about things she shouldn't."

"That's called being a mother."

"Yeah, but she's worse than you were. You were worried about things you have some control over. If they get changed your father said it; there is nothing that can be done to prevent it."

"Johnny, how did you get so wise, so quick?"

"Your father. He trusted me, so I ask him questions about all of this, all the time."

Dennis and Winnie joined them on the roof. Dennis said, "Dad, you're worried about something."

"Great, now you can read my mind too," Johnny said jokingly. "Yes, there is supposed to be an eclipse again on Monday, and your Aunt Sam is scared that you cousins might be changed by it."

Dennis didn't hold back. "That'd be cool."

"Your aunt is scared about that."

"Why?"

"Because she is a mother," Mavis answered. "The same reason that I thought about moving us to California."

"We can try and calm her tomorrow before the ceremony," Johnny answered, "But until then, I think it is time to go to bed. The sun should rise shortly."

The family went inside, with Winnie joining them. Her parents had said she could stay with Dennis as long as she wanted to, so she spent all night with him.

* * *

Shortly before he went to bed, Drac began to ponder everything that he learned that day. He couldn't find any information on how complete the eclipse needed to be for young low blood dhampirs, but sensed that any blocking of the moon might prove to be dangerous, especially for the children. He seriously considered cancelling Dennis's birthday party, but decided against it. All he could hope for was that nothing would happen. And if something did, they could cross that bridge later. That's when he heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?"

"It's Jacob. Dracula, do you have a minute?"

"Absolutely, please come in." Jacob entered the room. "How may I help you?"

"Drac, something is troubling you, and my grandchildren. Do you have any idea of what?"

"Yes, there will be an eclipse during Dennis's birthday party."

"How complete?"

"An observatory says there is a 40% chance of a total eclipse, but it is unlikely the moon will disappear. Most likely, it will be a penumbral eclipse, which isn't dangerous."

"Even for the youths?"

"That I cannot be sure of."

"I don't worry about Connor. He told me in confidence that he wants to be just like Dennis; the other two I'm not sure about." Jacob blushed, embarrassed he revealed this.

"Jacob, do not worry about that. Johnny has taught me that you cannot worry about everything. Sometimes you just have to roll."

"I hope you're right, Drac. I don't want to lose my family again after just finding them."

"I can't speak for them, but I guarantee you will not lose Johnny and Dennis. The others, if they can't accept the truth, then you don't need them. Can I tell you something in confidence?"

"Sure, Drac."

"You see, when Mavis and Johnny went to visit his parents after they were engaged, they were a little scared of her. Mike and Jenna were the only ones who accepted her right away. They knew that love will always find a way. They both also trusted that their brother would never bring someone into the house who would hurt the ones they cared about. Now, Connor is also on the same path. Johnny has told me that. I think he will be transformed soon. He has so much love and respect for Dennis now. Did you know that shortly before Johnny was transformed they had planned to try and do it the 'old fashioned way'?"

"No I didn't."

"His was convinced after my father's former servants kidnapped him, and we went to rescue him. He didn't like to see Mavis with blood dripping from her fangs, and he vowed to do whatever was necessary to prevent that. We were going to do it on the 13th, but he found his inner monster on his own. Oddly enough, it was also my father's former servants who provoked him."

"But why are you telling me all this?"

"Jacob, it is because you shouldn't worry about it. That's what we told Kent. If something happens, then we will all find a way together to deal with it. After all, we are all family."

"Thank you my old friend."

"Now you should go and get some sleep. It will be a long night tomorrow." Jacob left and Dracula resumed being lost in his thoughts. "Martha, how I could use your wisdom right now." Just then he heard her voice say, "My zing, your son-in-law is right. Just roll with it." This seemed to take the weight off of him, and he was able to get to sleep now.


	19. Brett's Secret

Chapter 19

Brett's Secret

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Mavis said to Johnny with them both still in their bed.

"Good morning. How did you sleep?"

"Like I was dead." This caused Johnny to laugh, and he began to snuggle with her. "Oh, Johnny. What's gotten into you?"

"I love you so much. What do you say we make a memory right now?"

"Oh, Johnny. You naughty boy." They began to kiss each other passionately. They were stopped by a loud knock on the door. It was getting louder by the second.

"Raincheck?" Johnny asked. Mavis had no idea what he was talking about. "To be continued." Mavis nodded.

"Johnny, open up. It's an emergency!" A woman's voice pleaded. "Please, I'm begging you."

"Just a sec," Johnny answered as he put his robe on. He opened the door to see Samantha in a panic. "Sam, what's wrong?"

"Have you seen Connor?"

"No. Why would you think we'd know where he is?" Sam handed him a note that Connor had written, and Johnny began to read it out loud. "Mommy, went to play with Dennis. Back later. Love, Connor." Johnny thought for a second. "Mavis, do you know where Dennis is?"

"I just woke up also," she declared angrily.

"Sorry, honey." He turned to Sam, "Give us a minute to get dressed and we'll help look for him." Sam left, and began to look for him.

About five minutes later, Johnny and Mavis in bat form started flying around the hotel looking for Connor. It only took a few minutes to find them. Dennis and Connor were sitting on the roof. Dennis had dried blood on his face, while Connor was crying, his eyes red from his tears. Johnny began to interrogate them. "What were you two doing?" He said in a stern voice. "Dennis, did you hurt your cousin?"

"No, daddy. I'd never hurt Connor."

"Then explain why Connor is crying, and you have blood on your face."

Mavis stepped in, "Johnny, maybe it isn't what it looks like."

"I hope so. Dennis, did you bite your cousin?"

"No!" Connor said thru his tears. "He didn't do anything to me!"

"Then why are you crying?" Johnny asked.

"Because I don't know what to tell my mommy and daddy. I'm a scared they won't love me any more."

Mavis picked up Connor, cradling him in her arms. Connor stopped crying, and comforted, let out a little smile. That's when Mavis saw them. "Oh. So that's it," Mavis said. "It doesn't change anything. Trust me, Connor."

Connor was upset that he had shown her, but immediately felt a sense of relief from her.

"What is it?" Johnny asked. Connor opened his mouth wide, and inside were two fangs. "Oh, Connor, I'm so sorry. Dennis, I'm sorry for accusing you also." Johnny was now fighting back tears.

"It's ok, daddy." Dennis replied, but Johnny now was tearing up himself.

"So, do you want to tell anyone?" Johnny asked.

"Yes, I wanna tell Papa Jake. And daddy."

"You don't want to tell your mother now?" Mavis asked.

"No. Not now."

Johnny suggested that she try and distract Sam by taking him to the spa to get her hair and nails done before the wedding. "Please, honey. Just give us an hour or so to tell them first." Mavis agreed and went to get her sister-in-law. Sam didn't want to go at first, but after seeing that Connor was ok, she relented.

Connor stayed in the room with his father waiting for Johnny and Jacob, who arrived shortly after the ladies left. Jacob spoke first saying to Connor, "Johnny says you have something to tell me."

"Yes." Connor opened his mouth widely exposing his new teeth. "It just happened."

Brett was now horrified by this. His son had been transformed into a vampire as well. Jacob hugged his grandson telling him that it was ok. "It doesn't change anything," Jacob said.

Brett was now sobbing. He had no idea how it was so easy for Connor to share his secret with his loved ones, but he was so terrified to. "Oh Connor, how did you get so strong?" No one was sure what he was talking about. "I've wanted to admit it for years, but I was always too scared of what mom would think, and then of what Sam would think."

"What are you talking about, bro?" Johnny asked.

Brett fished around in his mouth removing two caps that covered fangs in his mouth as well. Everyone was stunned now. "It happened to me when I was 4. I told dad, and begged him to keep it a secret from everyone."

"But why did you act the way you did when you first met Mavis?"

* * *

Cue Flashback, 8 years before, Loughran home

Johnny and Mavis were on their way back from Hawaii. Johnny had wanted to introduce his family to his new fiancée as they had just gotten engaged in Hawaii. The first night, she was just Mavis from Romania. Everyone loved her, especially Jenna. They would reveal the truth the next night.

After dinner, Johnny said to his family," We weren't completely honest with you guys last nite. There is more to Mavis than meets the eye."

Kent whispered to Jenna, "And with her there is a lot to meet the eye." Jenna shook her head. Kent didn't realize that Mavis heard him, but she did. She shot him a dirty look. Kent immediately apologized.

Johnny continued, "Mavis, please show them." She turned into a bat and started to fly around. "She is not just from Romania, but Transylvania. She is Count Dracula's daughter, and a vampire as well." Mavis landed and turned back.

"Oh my god! She's a monster!" Linda screamed. She was joined by Sam and Kent. Brent looked like he didn't know what to do, but followed his wife's lead. Of the adults, only Jenna and Mike were calm.

Troy didn't care. He thought this made his new aunt even cooler. "So are you like a superhero?" he asked.

"Kind of."

"Troy, get away from her. She's dangerous!" Sam screamed at her son. Despite this he still hugged her.

Jenna was the voice of reason. "Last night you all thought she was beautiful. Now that you know the truth that changes something." Jenna walked up to Mavis and hugged her. "Besides, I know Johnny would never bring anyone into this house that would hurt any of us." Johnny and Mavis both nodded. "And I still love my new sister."

"Jenna, thank you," Mavis said.

"And I love my new daughter, also." Mike said walking up to her. "The truth is supposed to set you free, not capture you."

"Thanks, dad," Mavis and Johnny both said almost in unison.

The other four were still terrified of her, but one thing made them feel better. Jenna was an excellent judge of character, just not when it came to her boyfriends.

End Flashback

* * *

"I don't know," Brett said, "I just went with mom's reaction. I had no idea that Jenna was going to do what she did." The dam broke and Brett was now crying uncontrollably. Jacob went up to him to try and comfort him. "I am the worst kind of hypocrite."

"No you're not," Jacob tried to explain. "You were a little boy, and had no way to think of what to do. Your father respected your wishes, even though he knew of me then. I wish he would have told me."

"So do I." There was a knock at the door. "Who is it?" Brett said almost in a panic.

"It's Jenna. Have any of you seen Mavis?"

Brett was relieved it wasn't Sam. "No, but please come in. I have something I need to show you." Jenna entered surprised to see all the guys there. "I've been hiding something from you since before you were born."

"But, Brett, I know," Jenna answered. Brett was shocked. "Dad told me the other night, after we talked about the wedding."

"I'll kill him," Brett said quietly but angrily.

"Please don't. At least not until after the wedding," Jenna said jokingly, even though she thought Brett might be serious. "There was only one thing that bothered me about it."

"What was that?"

"Why were you so scared of Mavis when we met her?"

"I still don't know." Brett resumed sobbing, "But I don't want to hide it anymore. I just have to think how I can tell Sam without scaring her."

Johnny spoke up, "I think I have an idea. At the reception, why don't we play your song? You dance with her, and at a point in it, just show her."

"How do I show her?"

"That's up to you. You could levitate with her, show her your fangs, or turn into a bat."

"So, what is your song?" Jenna asked.

" _Listen to Your Heart_ by Roxette."

"Great choice, and a great message," Johnny said. "Hopefully she heeds the lyrics."

"I hope so, too."

Jenna asked her brother, "Would you tell the story?"

"We were at our senior prom. I had known Sam since we were in 4th grade, and we were always friends. Her date for prom cancelled at the last minute, and she asked me if I wanted to go. I don't know why I said yes, but I did. The theme was the '80s and that song played towards the end of the night. We danced to it, and at the end we shared our first kiss. I knew right then that she was my soulmate. We married about 2 years after that."

"Oh, that's so sweet," Jenna said.

"By the way," Johnny said, "Mavis is with Sam at the spa. They should be back any minute."

Everyone but Brett and Connor left to prepare for the ceremony, which was only 2 hours away. This would either be one of the best days of Brett's life, or one of the worse. It was highly unlikely for there to be any other possibility. Connor went to find his brothers and show them, but was stopped by his father. Brett urged Connor not to show them until after the ceremony. He wanted to keep his wife in the dark until he showed her, however he would do it. He said a little prayer, begging for the courage to go thru with it.

Dennis went down to see Drac before the wedding. Drac spotted him, "Denisovich, there is no training today."

"I know, but I have something to tell you."

"I think I know."

"You do?" Dennis was shocked that Papa Drac had any knowledge of what happened. "You know about Connor?"

"I do now," Drac said. Dennis felt upset he had confessed it. "But your father sensed that it was going to happen soon."

"How did he know?"

"He went thru my book on dhampirs yesterday, and found something I missed. You have to want to be changed. Connor loves and respects you. Your father said he wanted to be just like you. All that had to happen was a little spark, and I guess that happened earlier."

"Yes!"

"Connor will tell us all when he is ready. Besides, everyone will be coming down soon for the wedding. You look very handsome."

Dennis blushed and thanked his Papa. This was going to be an interesting night.


	20. Wedding Bells

Author's note: I know that doesn't like the use of copyrighted songs, so I will only reference one song. I do have in mind songs that I would have included, if this was not the case. If anyone wants to know the direction I would have went, PM me for a list.

Chapter 20

Wedding Bells

The ceremony began promptly at sunset. The groom's party went with traditional outfits, black tuxedos. The bridal party wore deep purple, except for Jenna, who was in the exact same black gown with a white spider web veil that Mavis had worn for her wedding. She even used the exact same accessories. The loudest "oohs and ahhs" were for Dennis and Winnie. They looked adorable in their outfits, which were the exact same things that the adults wore.

One of Jenna's best friends growing up had become a priest, and agreed to officiate the service, even though there would be no religious aspect to it. He had always said that the best day of his ministry would be presiding over her wedding. He didn't balk when Jenna said she was to be married to a werewolf, saying, "Jenna, I never doubt God's plan. If that is His will, then I trust it. I only want for you to be happy."

Jenna was slightly nervous about asking Drac, but Mavis assured her that it was her wedding. "Jenna, Johnny has shown me St. Peter's in Rome, and nothing happened when I went in. It's your wedding. Don't worry about my father. I'll take care of him." Mavis was as good as her word.

"I understand the couple has written their own vows?" The priest asked the couple. They nodded their heads. "Then, Wilbur, please proceed."

"When we first met, I thought it was impossible for us to be together. But when we ran into each other, literally, and locked eyes, I realized that we were meant to be. I still cannot believe that someone as beautiful and wonderful as you would love me this much, but you do. And I love you more than I did that day we met four years ago. Jenna Loughran, I pledge all I am, all I was, and all I will ever be for you. You are my everything, and I cannot imagine life without you."

After he finished, the priest said, "And Jenna, it is your turn."

"Wilbur Werewolf, you mean so much to me, that words cannot describe it. I never would have thought that two lonely and imperfect people could meet, and couldn't be more perfect for each other. I love you, Wilbur. You are my best friend, my soulmate, my zing, and my everything. I vow everything I am, was, and ever will be. And I promise that this love will be just like a fairy tale, and will go on forever and ever."

"That was lovely. The rings please." Dennis came up with them on a pillow. The priest said a blessing over them, out of habit, then said, "Wilbur please repeat after me. Jenna, please take this ring, as a symbol of my love and affection. It is perfectly circular, signifying that out love had no start and no end, and it will go on until the end of time." Wilbur repeated the lines as he placed the ring on her left hand. The priest then repeated the same verse, only changing the names. Jenna placed Wilbur's ring on his left hand. "If anyone has any objections to the union of these two, let them speak now." No one made a sound. "Then, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

The two shared a passionate kiss on the stage, and there were loud cheers, between tears of joy.

The reception was also traditional for the human guests. Wilbur's best man was his brother Willy, and gave an embarrassing toast. Mavis, as maid of honor also gave a toast, which was more solemn. The couple shared their first dance as husband and wife. Then Mike danced with his daughter, singing along to the song they had picked, which was a popular country song, but seemed prefect for the occasion. By then end of it, neither of them had dry eyes. Next, Wanda danced with her son to a pop song.

There was a mix of faster tempo songs and slower ones, allowing everyone to dance at either speed. Shortly before 4:00, Johnny went up to the DJ's stand, and handed him a list of four songs to play in order. The first was a country song that got almost all the couples on the dance floor. The second, was a faster tempo rock song. Next was another country song that Brett had said perfectly described their first kiss. The final one, was the song. That being Brett and Sam's song. They were still on the dance floor from the previous three, when Sam heard the first notes of _Listen to your Heart_ , and a huge smile crossed her lips.

"Did you do this?" Sam asked her husband.

"Maybe," Brett replied nonchalantly, but trying to keep his lips close together. They dance together on the floor for the first two verses and during the guitar solo, Brett began to levitate both of them.

"I feel like I am floating on air right now. Brett, I still love you so much." As the third verse began, Brett asked Sam to look down. "What's going on?" She was almost in a panic.

"Sam, I've had something I wanted to tell you for a long time, but I didn't know how to. But something happened today, that forces my hand." Brett opened his mouth showing her his mouth, including the fangs that were uncovered by the caps he normally wore. Sam let out a scream. "Honey, it's true."

"Get me down from here." Brett carefully released the levitation. "I never want to see you again, you monster!" She repeated it, "You're a monster, and I hate monsters!" She then ran out of the ballroom crying, leaving Brett also in tears, and disturbing everyone.

This caused Mavis and Johnny to rush to Brett. They both attempted to comfort him, but he was inconsolable. Mavis and Johnny both were particularly disturbed by her final choice of words, as this is exactly what Johnny said to Mavis at her 118th birthday party rejecting her, even though he really didn't want to. Jenna came over shortly after, also apologizing to Brett. He looked like he had just been crushed. He was weeping uncontrollably and ran out to the lobby. No one was sure what to do next, but they all knew they had to do something. And there was only one person who might be able to stop Sam from doing something she would regret for the rest of her life.

A/N: Going to leave the cliffhanger here. Funny that Johnny's sister-in-law said the exact same thing as Johnny, huh. I apologize for the short chapter, but the plan is that the next one will be much longer than usual, and I like to not go much over 2K words. I thought this was the best place to stop.


	21. Brett and Sam's History

Author's note: This was the most difficult chapter so far I've written as I couldn't read thru this one without fighting back tears. I hope you have the same issue.

Chapter 21

Brett's and Sam's History

The wedding party stood in the ballroom in shock by what had just happened. There were very few dry eyes left after what had happened in the last few minutes. Brett had told Sam the truth, but rather than accepting it, she rejected him. For the first time in his life, Brett turned into a bat and flew onto the roof to sulk. He asked everyone to leave him alone. Everyone wanted to try and console him, but it would be useless.

Johnny, Mavis, and Jenna were still standing next to each other after Brett left the room. Jenna spoke up, "There's only one person who can stop Sam from doing something she will regret for the rest of her life."

"Who's that, sis?" Johnny asked.

Jenna whispered it, "Connor."

Even though he was on the other side of the room, Connor heard Jenna, and flew over to her as a bat. He turned back as soon as he got by them. "But what can I do?" He asked.

"You have to tell your mom everything," Jenna said, "and I mean everything that you remember about earlier today. She will trust you, even more than she trusts your daddy."

The boy was now in tears. "But I don't wanna. After how she acted to daddy, what is she gonna say about me?"

"I promise," Jenna said, "she won't be mad at you. She will always love you."

Connor was still unsure, and asked, "Can Dennis come too?"

Johnny answered, "If you think that will help you tell her, then yes."

Connor nodded his head, and caught Dennis's glance. Dennis immediately came over to them, and said, "I'll do whatever you want, Connor. I owe you."

No one besides Connor was exactly sure what Dennis meant, but sometimes it helped to have someone you trust and care deeply about when you have to do something so difficult. The two boys started to go and find Sam.

Linda had asked Drac if he knew where Brett had gone. She said to him, "I have to go try and comfort my son."

"I am not sure, but whenever Mavis would want to go and sulk, she would go to the roof."

"Can you please take me to him?"

"Of course."

Ever since Dennis found his power, Linda started to try and get closer to Drac. Mike, even though early they had a confrontational relationship about where Dennis should be raised, once Johnny said he really liked it at the hotel about 3 years ago, Mike didn't push any more. The grandfathers had made peace with that, and had a warm, but complicated relationship. Drac was not sure if Martha was still alive if she and Linda would have gotten close, but since Dennis's 5th birthday, she had been trying to get closer with him.

Drac carried Linda to the roof, and they found Brett who looked almost identical to how Mavis looked after Johnny rejected her at her 118th birthday party. Drac dropped her off, and he went back down. Before he left, he whispered to Linda, "He really needs you right now. My Mavy-Wavy was the same way once, when I screwed up. This wasn't your fault, but he really needs you."

Brett caught sight of her shortly after Drac dropped her off. "I don't want to talk, mom."

"I'm so sorry, honey. But why didn't you tell me."

"I was 4, and I was scared of what you would think."

"Honey, I would have loved you no matter what. You want to tell me about it?"

Brett was still in tears, but started to calm down as his mother rubbed his back. "Are you sure?"

"I think it will help. Keeping secrets, especially from the ones you love, isn't a good thing."

* * *

Cue flashback. 30 years ago. Elementary school playground

It was recess on Halloween. Almost all the students were in their costumes. Among these were Brett who was in kindergarten and was dressed as a vampire, a larger boy who was in the 3rd grade dressed as a dragon, and a girl new to the school who in one of the other kindergarten classes dressed as a princess. The 3rd grader was bullying the girl and pushing her to the ground. The girl was on the ground crying, and even though Brett didn't know who she was, he felt obliged to help her. The bully then pushed him to the ground. "This doesn't concern you, vampire. This is between me and the princess." He turned back to the girl and resumed pushing her, and making her cry. "Now, where were we? Oh yeah. Your lunch money!"

Brett now grew livid with rage, and something inside him snapped. He made a loud roar, and lunged at the boy, pushing him to the ground, even though the bully was almost a foot taller than Brett. He stood over the bully exposing, what Brett still thought were fake fangs. The bully began crying, and got up and ran away. Brett turned to the girl who he helped off the ground, apologizing for everything that happened to her.

The girl then said to him, "My hero!" and gave him a kiss on the cheek. They went back to their classes shortly after this, and really didn't meet again until they were in the 4th grade.

After school that day, Brett went home. It wasn't until then that he realized that something was wrong. He let out a terrified scream. His father was home and came into the bathroom to see what was wrong. Brett said, "I can't get these fangs out."

Mike then looked at his son's mouth and attempted to remove them. He started to pull on them, but this hurt Brett. He then examined Brett's mouth, and noticed something new. There was a small gap between his regular teeth and the fangs, which appeared to be attached to his gums. He knew then that the fangs were real. Mike said as quietly as he could, but still loud enough for Brett to hear, "He said that this might happen."

"Who, daddy."

Mike was horrified that Brett had heard him. "No one." He didn't know what to say. How much about Linda's past could he expose? He had started to email Jacob a few months ago. Mike thought, "If anyone would know what to do, it would be him. But Linda doesn't want him in their lives." Linda had just told him that she was pregnant with their second child, and didn't want to disturb her. He told his son, "Mommy has a secret in her past, she didn't want you to know, but now it has affected you, and you have to know. You are really a vampire."

"Cool. Does that mean that I can fly?"

"Maybe, but mommy didn't what you to know about this. It scares her."

This hurt Brett, because he thought that his mother would be mad at him for it happening. He begged his father to keep it a secret from his mother. They went to the dentist shortly after to get caps made for the fangs so they would be undetectable.

End Flashback

* * *

Brett told his mother most of the story behind his transformation. Linda remembered that day, and was irate at her husband for not telling it to her. But then she remembered that the last email she sent Jacob was asking him to not contact her or her family any more. She said silently, "He must have found his reply, and never told me." She spoke to Brett, "It's all my fault. I should have let Jacob into your lives. I was scared after I learned your father was a van Helsing that he would feel betrayed. I am so sorry." Linda was now the one in tears.

"It's ok, mom." Now Brett was the one trying to comfort Linda. "There's one other thing."

"What is it, honey?"

"I didn't know it then, but the girl." He stuttered out the next words, "It- it- it was Sam."

"But, honey, why didn't you tell her later."

"I think she thought I was just acting in my costume, and I didn't want to scare her."

Linda stayed on the roof holding Brett close to her. She was able to comfort him some, but it was going to take a lot more than that.

Dennis and Connor were on there way to talk to Sam. Dennis had seen that Sam had went to her room. Connor knocked on the door. Sam said thru it, "Go away. I don't want to see you," thinking it was Brett.

"But mommy," Connor said before being interrupted by her.

"Connor, I didn't know it was you." She opened the door, but was upset to see Dennis with him. "What's HE doing here?!" She asked angrily.

Connor was still afraid to tell her, but knew he had to. He simply said, "Me too."

"You too what?" There was not only confusion, but worry in her voice.

"I'm just like Dennis. And Daddy." He opened his mouth exposing his fangs.

Sam was stunned. She couldn't believe that she had shown her son so much intolerance towards her father, and now he was confessing to being exactly like him. "Oh, my baby. I'm so sorry." She began to break down in tears and kept repeating, "I'm so sorry."

"It's ok, mommy." Connor turned into a bat, and landed on her shoulder. She grabbed him, and kissed him before he turned back. Some of his fur had gotten inside her mouth, and she pulled a few hairs out.

"But when did it happen? And how?"

Connor was now unsure of how much to reveal, but thought back to what Jenna had told him. He had to tell her everything. "A few hours ago, when I went to go play with Dennis."

She looked at Dennis asking, "Is this true?"

"Yes, Aunt Sam."

"What happened?"

"Dennis was flying around, and I was watching him from the roof. He hit something and started to fall. I jumped after him, to try and catch him, but couldn't. I fell, too. But I didn't fall. I started to fly after I caught him."

Sam tried to think back if she ever remembered something like that with her and Brett. He had told her it happened when he was 4, so she tried to think of that time. About a minute later she remembered. "Oh, my god! That's when it happened to him. It was because of me!" Sam started crying.

"What's wrong, mommy."

"It's all my fault." She kept crying for a minute, but tried to compose herself. "It was because of me. Do you know where your daddy is?"

"No, mommy. But Aunt Jenna said that they would still be in the ballroom."

The three of them returned to the ballroom, where in the last hour the mood had gone from one of celebration of new love, to the mourning of a love possibly dying. Sam found Jenna first, saying, "It's all my fault. It happened because of me."

Jenna was unsure of what she was talking about. "What is your fault?"

"It's my fault that Brett turned into a vampire."

"No, it wasn't," Mike said.

"If I hadn't been getting picked on-"

Mike cut her off mid sentence, "That's like blaming someone for being in the way of lightning. Brett made a choice. He saw you being picked on, and knew he had to try and help."

"But still-"

Mike cut her off again, "But nothing. He didn't know it was you at the time. I didn't even know that you were the princess until a few days ago." Sam was able to smile a little since he remembered that she had dressed as a princess. "He saw someone in pain, and tried to help them. That's why he went to prom with you."

She thought back to when she was dumped by her then boyfriend only a week before prom. She was venting to him on their way back home from school, despite the fact that they were only neighbors, but still decent friends. The next morning he had made a card for her. It said, "I know I may not be your first choice, but will you do me the honor of taking you to prom?" She couldn't believe it. She had always had a little bit of a crush on Brett, but never knew why.

Sam said, "I always was his princess. And he always was my Prince Charming. What have I done?" Sam resumed crying.

Dracula came back into the ballroom. He was glad to see that whatever they had done to convince Sam had worked. He went up to her and said, "He's on the roof with your mother-in-law. And he's waiting for you."

"But how do I get to the roof?"

Mavis said, "We would be happy to carry you."

"But I have been so horrible to you. Why would you want to help me now?"

Mavis turned to Johnny, then her father, "Because of them," she said pointing at them. She explained the whole story of her 118th birthday. "If I never forgave someone who hurt me, I wouldn't have Johnny. Or Dennis."

Sam resumed weeping, saying to Mavis, "I'm so sorry."

"You don't need to apologize. We're family. We'll always forgive you, as long as you are willing to learn."

Mavis and Jenna carried Sam to the roof to talk with Brett. Sam hoped that Brett could forgive her for what she had said. Drac and Johnny stayed behind. Johnny had wanted to go also, but Jenna was certain that this was something the women should handle. He relented, and knew that his sister was probably right.


	22. Reconciliation

Chapter 22

Reconciliation

Mavis and Jenna levitated with Sam in between them up to the roof. About halfway up, Jenna's phone buzzed, but she couldn't check it at the moment. While there were going up, Mavis turned to Sam. She asked her, "What really made you more upset? Was it the fact that he was hiding it from you, or what he was?"

Sam didn't know what to think. "I think you're right. I think that I was madder that he was trying to hide it from me. But why did I have to say what I said? Why did I have to say THAT in front of everybody? Not just you, and Jenna, and Johnny. But Connor." Sam started to cry, but Mavis started to rub her back.

"Because you were scared? Because you were upset?"

"I think it was the latter. I think you're right. I think I was more upset about the fact he lied to me." They landed on the other side of the roof, but before they did Brett still in his mother's arms cuddling him. "I've got an idea." As they crested the roof, Sam began to sing the chorus from their song.

"Listen to your heart, when he's calling for you. Listen to your heart, there's nothing else you can do. I don't know where you're going, and I don't know why. But listen to your heart, before you tell him goodbye."

As soon as Brett heard the first words, he knew exactly who it was. He ran up to her, saying, "Sam, I'm so sorry."

"No, you shouldn't be. I'm the one who should be sorry."

"But, I tried to hide it from you, and I don't even know why."

"Ok, yeah. You can be sorry for that. But, I shouldn't have worried about it. I love you, Brett. I still love you. I'll love you no matter what." Now Sam was gonna ask the question, "If it happened to you when you were 4, why did you act that way with Mavis? Why weren't you the first to try and assure us?"

Brett was in tears again, but this time it was because he finally knew the answer. "I don't know why. I wish I would of. I was hoping that everyone would freak out about it when Johnny told us the truth about Mavis. But Dad and Jenna didn't. I know why Dad didn't." He turned to Jenna, "But why didn't you?"

Jenna answered, "I knew about Mavis before we actually met her." Jenna wanted to tell them the whole truth, but didn't think she should yet. "I saw the way they looked at each other and didn't care what anyone else thought. I always wanted Johnny to be happy. That's the same thing I want for you and Sam."

Brett again said, "I think I know now. I didn't know how to explain it, and it was easier to pass on the question by freaking out than explaining everything." He turned to Sam, "I'm so sorry Sam. I should have just admitted it. Especially since it was because of you, anyway."

"I know," Sam answered.

"You do?"

"Yeah. I remember everything about that day. I mean, I didn't know who you were. But, when we were in the same class in the 4th grade, I knew exactly who you were. I recognized you. You were the boy who stood up for me. And then when my heart was crushed by my boyfriend dumping me so close to prom, you stood up for me again. I don't know why I didn't say it then. You always were my Prince Charming, but I never admitted it. I would have loved you no matter what, Brett. No matter what. I just wish you would have told me the truth earlier."

Brett replied, "The truth is I didn't know how mom would react."

Now it was Linda who was in tears. "It's my fault more that anyone else's. I should have admitted it a long time ago. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't want to tell you guys the truth. But, I was just so scared of what Jacob would think about your father. I wish I would have known that he honestly didn't care. Oh, well. Everything has been revealed now. Can we all forgive each other, I guess is the only question to be asked.

Mavis was the first to answer her, "Already done."

Then Jenna, "Of course. We're family."

"Of course I can forgive you for anything." Brett said to his mother, and then to Sam.

"Thank you," Sam said. "I don't deserve it, but thank you. Brett, you always were my zing."

The group was shocked that she used that word, Jenna asking, "How do you know about that?"

"The wedding vows. Jenna, you called Wilbur your 'zing'. What else could that mean other than 'soulmate'?"

Brett answered, "Yes, you're my zing, too."

Now that everything had been resolved, the group started to hug. Linda said, "Come on. We need to get back downstairs."

Before they left, Jenna checked her phone, and saw a text message from Johnny. "Oh, how sweet."

"What?" Sam asked.

"Nope, I'm not gonna ruin the surprise."

They returned to the ballroom and seen that the stage was completely reassembled, where just earlier Jenna and Wilbur were married at. The priest was standing in the exact same spot he did earlier when he had conducted the ceremony for them. When they entered, he asked, "Brett and Samantha, are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" Sam asked.

"Ready to renew your vows?"

They were both stunned. "How did they know it would end like this?" Brett asked.

Johnny answered, "Dad knew. Sam, he knew that look in your eye. He knew how sorry you were for what you said. And he also knew that Brett couldn't stay mad at you."

Brett straightened his tuxedo, and Jenna gave Sam the veil she had worn for her wedding earlier. The couple walked down the aisle again, flanked by their children. There was hardly a dry eye in the seats, as everyone knew that this was the ultimate act of forgiveness. They were about to reaffirm their commitment.

The priest had selected a couple of vow options, and showed the couple beforehand. The one they picked was one they would alternate lines on, and they each took a printout of the vows.

The priest began, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to celebrate the reaffirmation of the solemn vows of matrimony. Brett and Samantha, do you wish to reaffirm your commitment to your marriage."

In unison they answered, "We do."

"Then, please proceed."

Brett began, "How young we were 15 years ago."

Sam continued, "How much we've learned since then."

"We've learned that not all dreams are attainable."

"We've learned that people grow and change."

"We've learned that nothing is quite the way we thought it would be. The hurts have been deeper than we have expected, and the joys have been greater," Brett looked at his children when he said the last line.

"The pleasures have far outweighed the disappointments."

"If I could go back and do it over again, I would still marry you, Samantha."

"And I would still marry you, Brett."

"15 years ago, I thought I loved you. Now I know I do."

Sam repeated the same line, "15 years ago, I thought I loved you. Now I know I do."

The priest then said, "As you have renewed your commitment to each other, let us remember the symbol of marriage. The rings, please." Connor brought the rings up on the same pillow Dennis had used earlier in the evening. The priest said a short blessing over them, then repeated the same thing he said earlier in the evening. "Brett, please repeat after me. Samantha, please take this ring as a token of my love and affection. It is perfectly round, with no beginning and no end. Just like our love, will have no beginning, and no end." He then repeated the same lines for Sam to put Brett's ring on. The priest then said, "I reaffirm you as husband and wife. You may kiss your bride." The two kissed deeper than they had in a long time.

Drac had agreed to set up a small reception after the renewal. The couple danced their first dance after the renewal to a different song, but one that Johnny insisted on. It was _Amazed_ , by Lonestar. After they finished, there wasn't a dry eye left, and everyone understood why Johnny had picked that song. Johnny had gotten on the microphone and said, "I think you guys need one more dance." There was a loud applause. The theme song of one of Sam's favorite movie played. It was _How Do I Live Without You_ , by LeAnn Rimes. Eyes in the crowd filled with even more tears as the powerful message of the song was absorbed by the guests.

The party lasted until about 9:00 in the morning. There was nothing planned the next night, so everyone had plenty of time to recover after the last night. The following night would be Dennis's 6th birthday party. There was also to be a lunar eclipse that night. No one was completely sure how full it would be. But that would be the least of their worry. Because an old foe had found them, and was planning his next move.

Author's Note: The next chapter will began the final act of the story I have planned. It will be taking a much darker turn, and will be written at rating "T"


	23. An Old Foe Returns

The last (planned) few chapters of this story are going to take a darker turn, and will be rated "T". They may not be suitable for readers under the age of 13 due to graphic images, violence, and blood. This chapter, however is still written at "K+" but does include some scenes that younger readers may find disturbing.

Also new characters are introduced, all of the Van Helsing family

Gustav Van Helsing

Bio: He is 115 years old. At age 37 he sold his soul to gain immortality, and hasn't aged a day since. He had dark green eyes, jet black hair. He has committed to continue the Van Helsing legacy, hunting vampires and other monsters. He is voiced by John Malkovich, using the "Teddy KGB" voice form the movie _Rounders_

Frederick "Freddy" Van Helsing

Bio: He was born 8 years after Gustav. He had bright, blue eyes and chocolate brown hair. He lived with his uncle, Arthur, and his cousin, Gustav. His father, Richard died just after his mother got pregnant with him. He was sent away from the family due to his lack of desire to hunt vampires. He is voice at age 12 by Carter Hastings, and as an adult by Grant Bowler

Arthur Van Helsing

Bio: He was born in 1870, and is a child of Abraham. He is raising and training his son, Gustav, and his nephew, Frederick. He had black hair and eyes. He is voiced by Colin Quinn.

* * *

Chapter 23

An Old Foe Returns

An ominous and familiar figure was just outside the hotel the next evening. It was Bela. He had found the hotel and was calling to report it to his new boss. "Sir, I have good news."

The voice on the other end of the line answered, "Very well. What do you have to report?"

"I've found them sir. They are at a hotel about 80 KM northwest from Brasov."

"How many are there?"

"About 50, sir."

"How many monsters?"

"Maybe 25, with 4 vampires."

"Any hybrids?"

"Our best intelligence says 2, sir."

"How unfortunate that we are in Bucharest. We will leave tomorrow at sundown. Bela, you return to our allies in Brasov so you can lead us there. We should meet you just before midnight."

"Yes, sir. There is one more thing sir."

"What's that?"

"One of the humans is the descendant of your cousin, sir?"

"The fruit of Frederick's loins? How fitting that one of the traitor's offspring should be there to watch this. Very good, Bela. Now make haste."

"Yes, sir."

The line went dead as the mysterious voice hung up the phone. He said, "This is almost too perfect that the heir of the vampire lover is with one right now."

One of his captains said, "Maybe he'll see the errors of his ways?"

"Unlikely, but one can hope." Finally the face of the voice was exposed. He looked about 30, with jet black hair, cut close to his head with a widow's peak. He had a muscular build, and was 6'4". His face looked like he had never shown any mercy, and had an emotionless expression on it. His voice was deep, and Russian.

"When do we leave, sir?"

"Tomorrow at sundown. Call in every available agent and ally. I need them here by noon tomorrow. Is that clear?"

"Yes, General Van Helsing."  
It was Gustav Van Helsing. Son of Arthur, grandson of Abraham. He had followed in his ancestors' quest, but he would not be deterred by death. Although he was over 100 years old, he didn't look a day over 30. He had sold his soul in order to gain immortality and had not aged a day since then.

"What could make a man forsake everything his family holds dear?" Gustav asked. "He is a traitor. Hopefully his descendants won't be as big of fools as Frederick was."

* * *

Cue Flashback. 90 years ago, Van Helsing home just outside of the forest.

Frederick and Arthur Van Helsing were discussing the lack of drive that Frederick had shown in hunting vampires. Arthur said," You're never going to be worth a damn as a vampire hunter if you keep this up."

"But, uncle, why do we even hunt vampires any more? What have they done to us?"

"They killed your grandfather (Abraham). And your father (Richard). What other reasons do you need?"

"Yes, but why?"

"Who cares why. They killed them. Motive is immaterial."

"But did father do anything to them?" Frederick had been having a recurring dream where his father would appear to him and tell him that the story he knows about his death is wrong.

"What difference does that make? Vampires are pure evil, and must be exterminated."

"But-"

"No more 'buts'. Your cousin is already as accomplished vampire hunter as I was at his age. You, on the other hand, have been a disappointment."

Frederick began to cry. "But, uncle," he pleaded but was cut off again by his father.

"I told you. No more 'buts'. Either you are going to join the family's quest, or I am going to send you away."

"But, why do we still hunt them?"

"I told you that already."

"But, have they done anything to any humans lately?"

Arthur thought for a minute and realized that his son was correct, but he couldn't admit it. They killed your father and your grandfather." He said even more forcefully.

"OK, uncle," Frederick finally relented. "I think I am going to go out hunting."

"For vampires?" Arthur asked hopefully.

"No. For something to eat."

"Alright, just don't go to far into the forest."

"I won't."

Shortly after he entered the forest, Frederick spotted a bird. He started to pursue it, but shortly afterwards tripped over a root. He started to fall down a cliff. He looked down to see a moat 50 feet from him, and coming closer quickly. Frederick didn't know why, but suddenly his life began to flash before his eyes. All 12 years of it. That's when he felt something pierce his skin in his leg.

Something had caught him and started to lift him up, but had accidentally pierced his skin by his ankle. It was a bat. He looked up into its face and was stunned. His father had always told him that vampires had blood red eyes, but whatever was carrying him to safety had eyes that were a pure, peaceful blue.

He was set down gently inside a castle's courtyard. As soon as the bat landed, it turned into a girl, which looked just slightly younger than he did. "Thank you," Frederick said.

"You're welcome, but I'm sorry my talon pierced you leg."

"You saved my life. I can live with a little less blood."

"What were you doing before you fell?"

"I was looking for something to hunt. I saw a bird and started to chase it, but tripped over something."

"Let me go get my father."

"You don't have to do that. I'm fine."

"It's his hotel. He wants to know every time someone new comes here."

"OK. Can I ask your name?"

"My name's Mavis."

Frederick thought, "What a beautiful name," but he actually said it.

"Thank you. My mother picked it. And what's your name?"

"My name's Frederick, but everyone calls me Freddy. Will I get to meet your mother?"

Mavis began to have tears fill her eyes as she said, "No. She was killed by a mob of angry humans."

"I'm so sorry. So you're a-" Freddy started but was interrupted by Mavis.

"Vampire? Yes." She left to get her father.

Her father was absolutely irate to see a human inside his walls. "What's HE doing here?!"

"Take it easy, dad," Mavis said trying to calm her father. "He fell while he was hunting."

A terrified look came over Dracula, but then Freddy started to explain. "Yes. I was tracking a bird when I tripped, and your daughter, I guess, saved me."

Dracula then let out a relieved sigh. "But you still shouldn't be here."

"But why not dad?" Mavis asked.

"No human has ever been in this hotel before, and we're not going to change that now."

"But, why not?"

"That is just the way it has been ever since you mother was killed"

"OK, dad." Mavis relented because she knew she wouldn't be able to change her father's mind.

"You need to leave. Now! You don't appear to be too badly hurt."

"I'm not." Freddy answered, "Thanks to your daughter."

A large smile came over Mavis's face. "Can I go with him to the edge of the forest?"

"No! I'll do that."

Freddy asked, "Can she please come with?"

Dracula relented as he saw the look in Mavis's eyes that she wanted to go also. "All right. Let's go!"

They left immediately as the sun would be up less than three hours later. The two children walked slightly ahead of Dracula so they could talk quietly, and thinking they would be out of range of his hearing. Freddy asked, "How old are you?"

"I'm 30."

"You're 30. You don't look a day over 10!"

A smile crossed Mavis's lips. "Thank you. And how old are you?"

"I'm 12."

"12?" Mavis said shocked.

Dracula interrupted, "Mavy-Wavy, humans age much faster than us."

"Ok. But what do your parents do?" Mavis asked.

"They're both dead. My father died before I was born. I don't know much about him. My mother died during my birth. I've been living with my uncle and cousin. He wants me to follow in the family trade, but I really don't want to." He was deliberately vague, since he didn't want any misunderstandings. He had started to develop a crush on Mavis. As they approached the end of the forest, Freddy asked, "So, can I see you again?"

"Absolutely not," Dracula said. "You must never come back here again."

"But, why not, dad?"

"Because we have already been exposed to too much danger because of this. I can't expose you to any more, my little mouse."

"Dad," she pleaded.

"No!"

Frederick thanked the vampires one last time before he left them. They both turned into bats and began to fly in the opposite direction. Freddy started to head for home, but realized he had left his gun. "Uncle is gonna wanna kill me!" He arrived home shortly later.

"Frederick, where have you been!?" His uncle demanded.

"I was out hunting."

"But I see you came back empty handed. You can't even hunt living creatures. How in the world could you ever hope to find a single vampire?" Arthur saw a defiant look on his nephew's face, and knew he was hiding something from him. "You found a vampire?"

"Two actually."

"Did you slay them?"

"No. Why would I do that?"

"Because you are a vampire hunter."

"I wouldn't harm them no matter what." His uncle became irate at his tone. "They saved my life. I am indebted to them."

"A human can never be in debt to a monster! You will lead us to them so we can slay them."

"No I won't. Even if I knew where they were I wouldn't."

His uncle was both irate and shocked that his nephew would be this defiant. "What does that mean?"

"Mavis is the prettiest girl I have ever seen. And I will be forever in her debt."

"So it has a name." Frederick was upset he had revealed this. "We have ways of loosening your tongue."

Freddy knew the threat was legitimate. He had seen his own uncle use the rack on someone to extract information, even going as far as dislocating some of his limbs. "You could kill me and I wouldn't tell you!"

"My God! You're smitten with this girl." There was no change in Freddy's expression. Arthur for the first time in his life raised his hand on one of his charges and smacked him hard enough to knock Freddy to the ground. He got back up, and Arthur was about to hit him again, but his hand was stopped by Freddy.

"You hit me again, it will be the last thing you ever do!" Freddy shouted at his uncle. "I swear on my life."

"That's it! You are leaving in the morning! You will go to America to stay with distant cousins. The Van Helsings must be committed to their fight. You are dead to me!"

For the first time, Freddy actually felt free of his uncle, and his lineage. "Good. I disown the Van Helsing name. I will never use it again! And I am not leaving in the morning."

"Yes you-"

Freddy interrupted his uncle, "I am leaving right now!"

When Freddy landed in New York, he met distant cousins of his. When asked by the immigration officer what name he wanted to register as, he asked his cousins their name. He would use it. From that day forth, he was Frederick Loughran.

End Flashback

* * *

Gustav was finalizing plans for the attack. He figured that a shock and awe campaign was the way to go. He thought, "25 monsters, with 4 vampires. I think that 150 allies should be plenty. We leave at sundown tomorrow. If God is with us, we will exterminate the whole mess of them tomorrow night."

"Yes, sir," said his chief lieutenant.

"There is one other thing. I want my grandson Arthur to lead the attack."

"Are you sure, sir?"

"We need to know his loyalty now."

"Should I tell him, sir?"

"No. Just tell him I want to speak with him. Now, be gone."

Back at the hotel, Johnny was reviewing everything he had learned about his family. The eclipse the next night still worried him, but the odds of a complete eclipse had not change that much. It had gone up to 60%, but as Drac explained to him, that really meant very little since there could be a total eclipse where the moon would not disappear, it would only turn bright red. That wasn't a concern. The issue would be if it began to disappear. Johnny attempted to calm his father-in-law saying, "We can cross that bridge when we get there. No need to worry about it now." This relieved Drac slightly, but he was still concerned. Something just didn't feel right, but he wasn't sure what it was.


	24. The Curse of the Van Helsings

Author's Note: The next couple chapters will reference an alternate ending to HT I have written. If you haven't read it, it is short. It replaces the last 20 minutes of the film.

New character

Arthur Frederick Van Helsing

Bio: He is the son of an unknown father, and the grandson of Gustav. He isn't convinced of the necessity of the battle against monsters. He is voiced by Shia LaBouf

Chapter 24

The Curse of the Van Helsings

Arthur Frederick Van Helsing was in his room reviewing news articles from the last year's monster festival. It seemed that actual monsters had come to it. He though this was cool, and would had liked to have been there.

He was a young man of 20 years, 6'1", with light chestnut brown hair that hadn't been cut in a while. He hadn't showered this morning yet, so he still sported a "bed-head". His eyes were a deep blue, and his face looked as he had never shown any animosity to anyone in his life.

Arthur was being raised by his grandfather since his father was killed in a training mission shortly after his birth. His grandfather had hated the fact that his mother insisted on giving him the middle name "Frederick", but he relented since it was her great-grandfather's name. He still remembered the day that his cousin Frederick left, and this boy reminded him a lot of his cousin. He seemed more interested in meeting monsters than slaying them. On more than one occasion, Gustav had caught young Arthur watching old monster movies, and actually enjoying them. This horrified Gustav, and his biggest fear was that Arthur was indeed the reincarnation of Frederick.

The lieutenant came to Arthur's room and asked him to come to the main room of the mansion, and that his grandfather wanted to talk to him. He obliged his grandfather and went to see him.

"Arthur, I want you to lead the attack tonight. You need to start gaining experience as the future head of the Van Helsings."

"But grandpa, I don't feel I am ready for such a responsibility. I haven't even taken my first monster yet." The truth was that Arthur didn't want to go. He didn't know why the family was still so persistent on hunting monsters, since it seemed that the rest of the world had made friends with them. He had hoped that his grandfather would allow him to stay behind.

This wouldn't be the case. "What better time for you to take your first vampire than the present. And Van Helsings are always leaders."

"What about Uncle Frederick?"

Hearing the name sent rage running thru every inch of Gustav's body. "What did you say?!"

"Nothing," Arthur said cowering in fear. "I just don't feel that I am worthy of such an honor."

"That's better. If that is your wish, I will lead, and you can be my second in command."

Arthur thought this was better than the alternative, but knew his grandfather would not allow him stay behind. "Ok, Grandpa. But are they still bad?"

"Of course. A leopard doesn't change their spots."

"But, I see articles that say they are friendly?"

"That's our curse. We are the only ones who see how dangerous they really are."

Arthur relented. He knew how headstrong his grandfather was. He wouldn't even consider a different possibility.

The Van Helsing's army numbered 90 men when they left Bucharest. They would pick up another 10 men, plus 20 of Bela's cronies at Brasov. "That should be plenty of strength to deal with that mess," Gustav said.

At the hotel, the guests were enjoying Dennis's 6th birthday party. Yet again, Winnie pounced on Dennis when she saw him, and Troy razzed him a little for it. Unlike last time, though, Winnie did not bark at Troy; she only growled at him a little. Johnny had explained to Winnie that that was part of having older family members. They didn't mean anything by the teasing, and she understood. "I still don't have to like it!" Winnie said to Troy.

"It's ok," Dennis said, "we're friends now." The two boys gave each other a high five. "And besides, I could do things to him if I wanted to," Dennis said winking at Troy.

"Dad!" Troy shouted panicked. He calmed down when he saw Dennis laughing at him.

"Honestly, Troy. Will you ever leave your cousin alone?" Jenna asked, even though she knew the answer. She had grown up with 3 brothers, and they still all liked to mess with each other.

"But I didn't do anything to him." Troy protested, but it wouldn't do any good. Jenna liked Dennis better than Troy, and Dennis could do no wrong in her eyes.

Connor came up to Dennis as Troy had left. The events of the last few days had made the boys grow even closer. "Hey, cuz!" Dennis said as he saw him.

"Dennis, I got something to show you," Connor said as he looked around to see if his parents were watching. When he was sure they weren't, he focused on a tray of snacks. He then was able to make it levitate towards them. "Hungry?" Connor asked to Dennis and Winnie.

"That's so cool!" Winnie exclaimed.

"Dennis, what did you do?" The voice was Mavis's and they were busted. "Why can't you act like a normal boy sometimes?"

"Sorry, Aunt Mavis," Connor said. "I just figured out how to make things float."

Mavis apologized to her son for accusing him. She still hadn't gotten used to the fact that there was another young vampire trying to figure out his powers.

Johnny saw his wife go over to the children, and heard what she said. "Normal is overrated," he said. "It's kind of like my mom always said. What separates the ordinary from the extraordinary?" Mavis didn't know where Johnny was going with this, and looked at him quizzically. "That little 'extra'."

Mavis began to laugh at how something so simple, can seem so deep. "Oh, philosopher Johnny. Any more deep thoughts you want to hit us with?"

"Nope. Just don't be too hard on the boys. They're special. And so are you." Mavis and Johnny hugged, and he kissed her on the cheek. "How did I ever get so lucky?"

Johnny had urged everyone to go outside, as it was now almost midnight. The eclipse would be beginning shortly. As far as everyone knew, it was still to be not a disappearing one, so it should be safe for everyone. "This will be so cool here, as with almost no lights outside, it's gonna be breathtaking."

"Man, I haven't seen it this dark since I was driving thru the middle of nowhere," Mike said.

"And where exactly is the 'middle of nowhere'?" Frank asked.

Mike explained the expression, and he laughed about it. Since the last year, Mike had tried to become better friends with all of the "Drac Pack". He really liked Wayne, and Frank could be fun, as long as no fire was involved. He learned this lesson the hard way, as when Dennis was born, and Mike and Linda went to see him. Mike went to light up a cigar, but the flame freaked out Frank. That was the last time he ever tried to smoke around him.

The moon, since the party had started had gone from off white, to almost blood red. It was eerily beautiful. It even looked bigger than normal, which Johnny was a little disturbed by. This meant the moon was slightly closer to earth than normal, which meant it would be more likely for it to have almost all light blocked out. A few of the vampires went for flys, but Drac had warned them not to go too far away. "No unnecessary chances," he warned.

About two hours later, something was heard by the vampires and the werewolves that sent them into a panic. It was the sound of many engines. There were way too many to be tourists. This was an army approaching. No one was sure what that meant, but everyone was concerned. The human guests heard them about a half hour later. By this time, the vampires had another reason to be concerned. The moon had started to darken. This concerned Sam, most of all as she wasn't sure how much the moon needed to be blocked for her sons to be susceptible to being changed.

By the time to convoy reached the entrance to the hotel, the moon was almost completely darkened. The vampires had begun to feel weaker. As they saw the army begin to disembark from their transports a sense of dread began to affect everyone there. These were not friends. They were armed to the teeth, with guns, knives, and other weapons. Gustav and Arthur took the lead, with Gustav demanding to see the owner of the hotel.

"That would be me," Drac said. "Welcome to Hotel Transylvania. How can I help you?"

Gustav instantly recognized this man, and knew he wasn't human. "You!" He shouted.  
"I'm sorry, sir, but do I know you?"

"You killed my father!"

"I think you are mistaken." Drac continued to sound as he was only the hotelier, since he wasn't sure who this mysterious stranger thought he was.

"I'm certain of it!"

Drac began to look into his memories, and couldn't find this man, or anyone who looked remotely like him in it. The closest he could find was the man who came up to him as he and Mavis were fleeing from the castle after Martha's murder. "That's not possible, sir. I haven't harmed any humans in almost 300 years." Drac instantly regretted this, since he had just outed himself as being immortal.

"300 years, eh? So at least you remember something from your past, Vlad."

"I'm sorry, sir, but that is not my name."

"That's right! When you gave up the last of your humanity you took a different name. Wasn't it Dracula?" A sense of panic hit Drac. He had just been recognized. His past would all come out. "That's what I though. Vlad the Impaler, aka Count Dracula. One of the biggest mass murders in history!"

Mike tried to step in to defend his friend. "I'm sorry, but-"

He was cut off by Gustav. Something about this man told him this was the descendent of his cousin. "Ah, yes. The fruit of Frederick's loins. Still loving vampires, I see."

"I don't know who you think I am, but I do not know this 'Frederick' you speak of."

Jenna tried to give her father a look to tell him to let it go. She had found the facts herself. She was aware that the new arrival was speaking of Frederick Van Helsing, aka Freddy Loughran. "Dad."

"Dad?" Gustav said. "How do you have a vampire child, unless?" He searched for someone who could be the correct age, but the only female vampires were Mavis and Karen. He knew Mavis was most likely too young, and Karen too old. "That only leaves one possibility. But who is the dhampir?" He couldn't find anyone that seemed to fit. "No matter. We can kill you all, and let the Almighty sort it out."

For the first time the peril of their situation became apparent. The group was in mortal danger. The moon was now almost invisible. All the pure-blooded monsters were struggling to even stand, and the hybrids could barely move. Of the monsters, only the newly transformed seemed to be almost normal, but they could not access any of their abilities. The only good thing was that eclipse was also affecting the bat cronies. They had to sit down as well, but with the amount of arms the human strangers had, that wouldn't matter.

"So, 'Dad'," Gustav said while looking at Mike, "I'm going to give you a chance to rectify the grave mistake your ancestor made, and join me in hunting down all the monsters on the earth."

"My name is Michael, and I would never harm those I care about."

"So, I was right about you. You are just like Frederick. Monster lovers are the first to be killed. Are you prepared to meet your maker?"

Mike had thought many times of what he would say if any such opportunity ever would have presented itself. He liked old westerns and the _Dirty Harry_ series, and he started to quote Harry Callahan himself, "You gotta ask yourself one question, 'Do I feel lucky?' Well do you, punk."

Gustav prepared his pistol, and aimed it squarely at Mike's head, cocked the gun, and began to squeeze the trigger. "Goodbye. Give my regards to my idiot cousin." Gustav pulled the trigger and the gun fired with an incredibly loud bang. Gustav was stunned. The gun was no more than 5 feet from Mike, but he was unharmed. "What is this?"

A brilliant white light began to engulf Mike. He let out a slight groan from the feeling of power that had come over him. It wasn't strength, but peace he felt. His eyes changed colors from their normal brown to a deep blue. A different voice came out of Mike's mouth. "Hello, Gus."

"It's Gustav!"

"Whatever it is, it's been too long."


	25. The Deliverance of the Loughrans

**This chapter contains violence and some blood and is rated "T". It may not be suitable for readers under the age of 13.**

Chapter 25

The Deliverance of the Loughrans

"Hello Gus," a different voice coming from Mike's mouth said.

"It's Gustav!"

"Whatever it is, it's been too long." Three people recognized the voice. It enraged Gustav and worried Drac. The third was Mavis.

"Freddy?" Mavis asked questioningly, "Is that you?"

"Hello, my savior."

"A demon cannot be your savior," Gustav said completely incensed. "That's blasphemy!"

"She saved my life," he said to his cousin. "Yes, my sweet Mavis. It is I. You're still as beautiful as the day I met you." This caused Johnny to become a little jealous. He didn't know who this was possessing his father, but knew this was not the time to inquire. "Gus, why do you still insist on continuing this fight? No one thinks monsters are even a threat any more?"

"It's my curse. One day they will build monuments to me as the visionary I was."

"Delusions of grandeur!" Drac exclaimed

"True," Freddy started, "but he always was concerned about his legacy. Gus, please end this now. If not for your sake, do it for your grandson."

"What about Arthur? This is his destiny! He is going to be the greatest monster hunter of all times!"

"Are you sure about that?" Frederick asked. "Is that really what the young man wants?"

Ever since they arrived at the castle, Arthur Frederick was amazed by what he saw. He couldn't believe all he was seeing. He didn't hold any ill-will towards any of them. And he was certain that the monsters there were all harmless unless they were threatened. He still didn't know what to say.

"Leave the boy alone!" Gustav commanded. "His course is set!"

"Indeed," Frederick started, "but not the way you think."

Arthur began crying. He didn't know how to tell his grandfather. Somehow though, he found the courage. "Grandpa, he's right." This slapped Gustav to his core. "I don't see why we have to be enemies any more."

"My own grandson, a vampire lover?! This treason is worse than Frederick's. Men, seize him and arrest him. We will execute him for his treachery later."  
Three men began to surround him, and place him under arrest. Frederick stopped them in their tracks by saying, "Freddy, tell them everything. If this must be your last act, get everything off of your chest."

"His name is Arthur! After my father and your uncle. Have you forgotten him?"

The boy resumed sobbing. "Freddy! Grandpa, he's right. I always have hated that name, ever since I heard that Great-grandpa sent him away. I just didn't know how to tell you."

This slapped Gustav worse than anything else he had ever heard. "Forget later. You will die right here, right now. Since you love monsters so much, how about we use one of the weapons we use on them, on you. Men, stake him."

A loud roar came from the group. The eclipse had began to wane, and the moon was slowly becoming visible again. It was Troy. He had found his power. He lunged at the men threatening this stranger almost 60 feet in less than a second, slicing all three of them to pieces with his newly grown claws which were now dripping with blood. When he returned to his feet, two fangs could be seen in his mouth, and he let out another horrifying growl. This terrified several of the human hunters with Gustav, but Arthur Frederick now knew he was safe. Troy then stood in front of the recently freed man, almost daring anyone to try and attack.

Freddy pleaded with Gustav to leave, "Cousin, leave this place now. If you don't, the blood will be on your hands."

"That's rich. A vampire lover saying that blood will be on my hands. Have you forgotten what they did to your own father?"

"But they didn't do anything to him." Gustav was shocked at this revelation. "My father took his own life." He approached Mavis, "I'm so sorry, but I know the truth now, and you need to know also. My father killed your mother."

Mavis began crying, stuttering out the next words, "Did you know that when we first met?"

"I suspected. I didn't know until I met my father in the afterlife. He took his own life the next night. His conscience would not allow him to live with the guilt. Your mother was his first, and he saw suicide as his only way out of a life which he despised."

Mavis began to think back of the night of her 118th birthday. She turned to Johnny, "You said you thought that your ancestor killed my mother." Johnny nodded painfully. Mavis had put everything together. This spirit possessing her father-in-law was the son of the ancestor he was referring to.

"Please, cousin. I beg you. Leave this place immediately."

"What are you going to do to make me?" Gustav said as defiant as ever. "If this it to be my last stand, than so be it."

"I? I can do nothing to make you. But you don't have to worry about me. It is the one coming after me that you will need to worry about. He is more powerful than anyone else here. May God have mercy on your soul, because you ass belongs to them."

"I have no soul! Have you forgotten that?"

"Well then, may whoever you sold it to have mercy on it. Your ass still belongs to them." With that the light left Mike, and he collapsed. Sam was the first to help him up, followed by Kent, who had a furious look on his face.

"Men, charge!" Gustav ordered. The bat cronies began to find their power and also charged with the humans. One of the cronies was about to strike Mavis, when a different light stuck Mike, this one almost blood red. He let out a scream of pain, but then rose into the air, levitating. This stopped them all in their tracks.

"What kind of black magic is this?" Gustav demanded.

Mike began chuckling, as raw power began to fill his body. His eyes turned blood red, and his hair began to darken slightly. He said, "This is your last warning. You have 30 seconds to leave this place, or there will be no mercy." No one was sure what was possessing Mike now, but the voice was slightly familiar. It sounded similar to Drac's but slightly more aged.

"The Van Helsings do not ask for mercy; they are BEGGED for it!"

"Very well, if that is your stand, then all the blood is on your hands!"

"My hands? You monster. This ends now!" Gustav charged at Mike, but he cut him off, lifting him with only one hand by his throat. He then roared in Gustav's face, with fangs growing in his mouth.

"Shall I crush your windpipe right now?" Mike began to tighten his grip on Gustav's throat when suddenly Mavis recognize the voice.

"Grandpa Vlad? Is that really you?" Mike nodded his head.

The next cry was from the young Freddy. "Please don't kill him. He's all the family I have left."

This stopped whoever was possessing Mike again, and he threw Gustav across the room, a good 80 feet. He hit the wall on the opposite side of the room so hard that it cracked some of the masonry. "My little blood orange," he said as he went to hug Mavis

"But why are you possessing my father-in-law?"

"To protect you, and those I care about. I can't help you any more, but I could give my power to someone else. I just had to find the right host."

"HOST!?" Johnny said furiously.

"Poor choice of words, but you know what I mean." Johnny nodded, and went to hug his father. After this the light left Mike, but the power he was feeling didn't wane. He took up a defensive position in front of his family. He was flanked by Kent, Sam, Parker, and Linda. Troy had carried the young Freddy to behind their line and joined his family. Drac Pack were still too weak to help, but were quickly regaining their strength.

"This ends now. Charge!" Gustav commanded.

Now it was Kent who found his power. He lunged at the first wave of attacking cronies. His fingernails grew into almost six inch long claws, and he began to slice them like they were knives. He had killed 5 of them, when he landed and roared. Two fangs then appeared in his mouth.

Just then something had hit Linda in the head, and she collapsed. A brilliant light then hit Sam, but unlike the two lights that struck Mike, this one was a peaceful blue. A different voice, a woman's voice came from her as well now, "Leave this place, and never return. This is your final warning."

Now it was Drac who recognized the voice. "Martha!" He exclaimed silently.

"Hello my love." This would be the only words spoken between them, but it said everything that was needed. Just like Vlad, she was using what was left of her spirit to make sure her family would always be protected.

Many of Gustav's human soldiers had long since fled as they were now terrified of what was happening. They had witnessed three humans be transformed into vampires, and a fourth starting to be transformed in front of their eyes. There were only about 30 humans left with Gustav, and 10 bat cronies still, including Bela who was in hiding. Gustav would be as incorrigible as ever. "Let us be like Custer at the Little Big Horn. If this is to be our last stand, then we go out in a blaze of glory! Attack!"

Whoever was possessing Sam, had her shake her head, and she let out a horrifying growl. Then she sprouted two fangs. She was followed by Parker, whose actions were similar to his brother's. He lunged at the attacking force, slicing them to pieces, blood still dripping from him newly grown claws. This was enough to convince many of the remaining humans of the futileness of their quest, and they began to flee in a panic. There was no effort to harm those who fled, only the ones who stayed were doomed.

With that, the final battle began. About 10 humans remained, along with the cronies and Gustav. Gustav had made his decision earlier that no matter what, he would end his stand here. The newest vampires, joined by Jenna, Dennis, Johnny, and Brett began to slay everyone remaining. Most used their claws, which grew to almost six inches long, although a few were bitten and sucked dry.

Gustav began to attempt to surprise someone. He didn't care who, but he knew he had to take someone with him. He had raised his stake to Drac, and it was about another second when Linda found her power. She lunged at him, and grabbed him with her right arm by the neck, lifting him up over her head. She roared at him more fiercely than any of the others had that night and her fangs grew. She then began to squeeze Gustav's neck. She would not stop until her hand was a clenched fist, and there was no sign that anything was between her fingers. However, she still felt his heart beating. She thought, "How do you kill that something that is immortal?" Linda knew what had to be done. She then used her left hand, and stuck it deep into the Gustav's chest, ripping his heart out while it was still beating its final beat. He was finally dead. The last threat to monster kind had been slain.

Linda came out of the trance she was in and began sobbing. "My god, what have I done?"

Drac and Mike both came to her to comfort her, with her husband saying, "You did what you had to to protect your family." She began to feel relieved.

"Linda, thank you!" Drac said, "You may have saved my life."

"Mom, I love you so much," Mavis said as she hugged her.

By now the only one left who was unaccounted for was Bela. No one was sure if he had fled, but they all began to search for him. Mavis was the one to find him. She shouted, "You! This was all your fault!"

"I beg you. Mercy?" Bela pleaded.

A look came over Mavis that answered him. There would be no mercy. Mavis lunged at him while growling, bit him, and sucked him completely dry. She heard a voice from somewhere telling her, "Thank you." It was her grandfather's voice. She had avenged him, as she promised the night he was killed.

"Dennis, I'm so sorry," Drac said. "It seems we can't have a birthday party for you without something attacking us." The whole group broke out in laughter. "Why don't we try this again tomorrow?"

"You mean I get two birthday parties this year, Papa Drac!"

The whole group broke out laughing again.

Johnny then asked his son what he wanted for his birthday. His answer surprised him, "I got everything I wanted. My whole family are vampires and superheroes."

This caused a large smile to come over the whole group, and they all embraced each other.


	26. Revelations

Chapter 26

Revelations

The whole family, except for Linda was still in the lobby where the battle for the hotel had just ended. The young Freddy was also invited to stay with the group. They were curious about him, and since Mike was first possessed by his uncle's spirit and he had told them that the young Freddy was a lot like his great uncle, everyone let their guard down a little.

"But, I'm still confused," Sam said. "I get the kids, but how did Mike and I become vampires as well?"

This puzzled the group as well, until Mavis remembered back to the night that Johnny was changed. "Dad, didn't you say someone could be possessed into transforming?"

"Yes, honey bat." Drac began thinking about it, "That's it! Mike, you were possessed by my father, and Sam you were possessed by my wife."

"So is that a bad thing?" Mike asked.

"I don't think so," Drac answered. "Sam, I know you should be ok. Martha was one of the first who thought that humans and monsters could be friendly." Sam smiled at hearing this. Drac then turned to Mike, "As for you, I am not completely sure, but"

Mavis cut him off, "You'll be fine, dad."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Drac asked.

"Not you," Mavis said as she shook her head, "my father-in-law."

"Sorry, devil chops."

"But how can you be so sure?" Mike asked.

"Something you said as grandpa was possessing you. He said that he was doing this to protect his family. I don't think he would give you his power, and let it harm you. Or us." Mavis's words calmed the whole group.

Freddy then began to be introduced to the group. Everyone was cautious around him, not wanting to disclose too much. The last one he met was Karen. "Hello," Freddy said politely. Karen answered back in the same manner, but when their eyes met, they opened widely, and a hint of a purplish gleam could be seen in both of their eyes. The two stood staring at each other for a few seconds before Drac cleared his throat, which seemed to bring them back to reality. Freddy then started stuttering at Karen, and apologized for the awkwardness. Karen didn't know how to respond either.

Mavis knew exactly what had happened. She turned to Johnny, and whispered, "I think Aunt Karen just found her zing." Johnny was disappointed in this, as he had hoped maybe Dracula could find a second zing, after all didn't the wedding vows say "until death do you part"? Mavis continued, "If we hadn't been so young at the time, Freddy might have been my zing."

Johnny was jealous over this, "Well what am I, chopped liver? I thought I was your zing."

"You are. I'm just saying wouldn't this be the ultimate redemption; a hunter zinging with a vampire?" Johnny relented, because he knew she was right. "I think we need to go talk to your mother."

"Why?" Johnny asked.

"Because she still hasn't gotten over killing Gustav, even though he was threatening to kill my father."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Let's go!" Mavis and Johnny went to the roof, and found Linda sitting there crying. She couldn't believe that she had taken another's life. "Mom, you want to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about. I'm a murderer," Linda said with tears still filling her eyes.

"No you're not," Mavis answered. "You saved my father's life."

"But I still killed someone."

"Yes, but those two are not the same," Johnny answered. Johnny was using the knowledge he had obtained from watching CSI. "Murder is a crime, killing isn't necessarily one. You were justified in using lethal force, because you honestly thought that someone you cared for was in imminent harm of severe injury."

Linda was shocked to get a legal lecture from her son, but television was one of the thing he paid attention to. "It's just going to take me some time to get used to it." The three hugged. "But, I have another problem. What do I tell my friends about this?" She said as she pointed at her fangs.

"Whatever you want, if you want to, mom." Mavis said.

The sky was staring to get darker, which meant dawn wasn't far behind. Johnny saw two small bats flying, and he knew that one was definitely Dennis, but wasn't sure who the other one was. "Dennis," he called for his son, and both bats came over.

"Yeah, daddy?" He said as the two changed back.

"I was just wondering who your friend was."

Connor came up to them and said, "Just me, and my best friend." The two boys high-fived.

"It's fine, but the sun will be up soon, so we need to get back inside." The group went back in.

Linda was shocked to see the way that Karen and Freddy seemed to be getting along. Mavis calmed her, "His namesake fell for me, kind of literally, when we were younger. Kind of fitting that he falls for a vampire as well."

The group went to bed shortly after that. Freddy was given a room and invited to attend the birthday party then next night. Everyone knew that the sins of the father, or in this case grandfather, could not be held on the head of the son. They had to trust him until he gave them a reason not to.

Karen snuck into Freddy's room shortly after he fell asleep. She was perched on the roof as a bat, just watching him. He woke up shortly thereafter and she came down and transformed back. Freddy said, "If you wanted to talk, why didn't you just knock?"

"I didn't want to wake you, especially after all you've seen today." The two became lost in each other's eyes again, and a few minutes later, Freddy leaned in, and kissed Karen on the cheek. He was now certain that she was the girl for him, even if she was slightly older.

"Can I ask you one question?" Freddy asked. Karen nodded. "What's it like?"

"What is what like?"

"To be so amazing." Karen smiled as Freddy continued, "All of it, flying, being super strong and fast. Just all of it."

"I don't even really think of it. It's just part of my nature."

"Would you be part of mine?"

"Are you asking what I think you are asking?"

"I don't know. Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"Oh! I thought you meant more than that."

"In due time. I just met you, but I already know that you are special, and I don't mean because you're a vampire."

"Yes. And when the time comes, I would be more than that, also."

"I lied," he said chuckling. "Can I ask you one more?" She nodded again. "Could I be like you?"

"You want to be a vampire?" She asked as Freddy nodded at her. "Yes, but it's dangerous. We just met, so let's make sure first. If we try it, there is no going back."

"Ok, my love." The two hugged and snuggled until noon before Karen went back to her room. She knew she had found her zing, and wanted more than anything else to spend eternity with Freddy.

Drac was in his study when there was a knock on the door. "Please come in." He said as Mike entered with Sam. "Yes, my friends, what can I do for you?"

Sam spoke, "Dracula, how does it work? Will we be like this forever?"

"I cannot be sure. We can draw blood tonight and check yours compared to everyone else's. Possessions are strange, but with it being my father and wife, I think they would make sure to keep their spirits with you always, so you can protect those you love. And please, call me 'Drac'."

"Thank you," Mike said, "I never thought I would have a brother, but now I feel like we are." The two men hugged. "Can you teach us all we need to know?"

"Absolutely, but that is for another time. We have a party for our grandson tonight, and must get some rest beforehand."

"Drac, I'm so sorry."

"For what, Samantha?"

"When I panicked at the wedding. For calling you all monsters. You're my family, and the only one I would ever want!"

Tears began to fill Drac's eyes as he went to her and hugged her. "Just promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"Always keep an open mind until you know all the facts. I almost lost my daughter and my future son-in-law for the same reason." Sam nodded as she went over to hug Drac and her father-in-law. "Now you two get some rest, we have a big night ahead." They left and headed to their respective rooms. Drac looked at the sky, and said, "Martha, she even looks a lot like you. You two have the exact same eyes." Drac looked up at the portrait of Martha and himself, and lost himself in thought.

The next night, before the party the entire Loughran family went to the infirmary to have blood samples drawn. They were all curious about how they compared to Drac, Mavis, Jacob, and Karen, as the latter two also had blood drawn for comparison. Once again, Johnny almost fainted when the needle went into his arm. Only Connor was slightly squeamish to the needle also. Kent razzed him about it, "How's it feel bro, to know that you're a bigger wuss than your 6 year old nephew."

"Shut up," was all Johnny could come up with, "and besides, I'm just like my son's best friend."

About an hour later, Dr. Jekyll came in with the results. Everyone was slightly shocked with what he revealed. "Johnny, your blood is almost identical to Jacob's and Brett's, and not far off from Drac's. Mike, you are almost a dead on match for Drac. Connor, you and Dennis are almost identical as well." Dennis and Connor hugged each other. They had become inseparable friends since Connor saved Dennis unless Winnie was around. "Sam and Jenna, you two are almost identical to Mavis, although Jenna, you have some comparison to your mother as well. It seems that age and length as a vampire has more to do with it than anything else. The boys," he said as he pointed to Dennis, Connor, Parker, and Troy, "are relatively close to each other, as are the adults."

"So what does it all mean?" Mike asked. "Are we immortal?"

"I wouldn't try to push your luck," Jekyll added, "but I would say probably yes." The boys all began to fist pump and high five. They were excited about everything that had just happened.

The party was a smashing success, and for one of the first times at the hotel, wasn't interrupted by anything. They were celebrating not only Dennis's first anniversary of becoming a vampire, but also the beginning of most of his family's lives as vampires.

Troy went up to Drac late in the evening as asked, "How long until we will get our powers?"

"You already got your speed and strength. You can grow claws when you want to, also."

"Yeah, but I mean the cool ones. Like flying, and moving stuff, and walking on walls."

"Flying takes the longest. If it doesn't happen right away, like it did with Connor and Dennis, it can take a few months. The others happen when they do. Don't worry about them. They'll come eventually. Now, let me see your roar." Troy let out a loud roar, exposing his fangs and tongue. "Not bad," Drac said, "but you need to let your diaphragm get into it, and open your mouth wider. Like this." Drac demonstrated what he was talking about, and Troy tried to copy it, but it would be a work in progress. "It will come in time."

Everyone stopped dancing when they heard Drac roar. Troy after he tried the second time apologized, but his mother gave him a dirty look. "Troy that is something to do outside."

"It's my fault, Samantha. I told him to do it."

Sam shook her head at both of them. "Don't encourage the boy."

Back at the Van Helsing home, only a few of the men who had went returned. Many were killed in action, but a majority escaped and gave up on the fight. They had seen the true nature of the vampires. They would defend their friends, but would not go on the offensive. A teenage girl was there to greet those who did return.

"How did the mission go?" She asked one of the returning men.

"Complete failure," a dejected man said.

"So what are the casualties like?"

"You see it. 90 men left here, only 5 returned. Your grandfather was killed in action. Your brother was kidnapped, and we fear killed as well."

"So 85 men dead, wounded, or captured?"

"No. Only about 30 men were actually harmed. The rest fled."

This made no sense to the girl. Vampires were supposed to be super aggressive. Why would they give men the opportunity to flee, and not hunt them? Unless, they are tracking them down for slaughter now. But why wouldn't they have killed them immediately? Her brain had three questions for every one she answered.

"So what are your orders, ma'am?" the man asked her. She had never been asked to give orders, only relay them from her grandfather.

"Set up a defensive position, and prepare for a counter-attack." She always loved reading about Napoleonic tactics, and it could come in handy now. "But I doubt they are coming."

She was the last of the Van Helsing hunters. What would her path be? Would she accept the truth, as her brother had earlier, or would she vow to fight, regardless of the facts she find?

 **Author's Note: This is where I had planned to end the story. But since I wrote Chapter 20, I thought of a couple more to do. Not saying a sequel, but it could end up as one. However, I will be taking some time off of this story to work on other projects. I am currently working on a story called _The Tie That Binds_ , covering Jonathan proposing to Mavis, and how the hotel opened to humans** **. The plan is to be back on this story no later than Thanksgiving.**


	27. A Vampire Never Dies

Part 2

Chapter 27

A Vampire Never Dies

The past two weeks had been a dream come true for Arthur Frederick. He had given up on using the name Arthur, and insisted to be called "Freddy". Everyone at the hotel had agreed to this request upon hearing his great uncle say that the boy had a lot of the spirit of his uncle. Mavis had instantly felt a connection to Freddy, and did ask him a lot of questions.

The one thing that the boy had never thought he would find when leaving Bucharest for the fight with his grandfather was his true love. He couldn't have even imagine that a vampire would ever forgive his family for what they had done to their kind. Not only had everyone at the hotel befriended him, but he found the one he had been searching for his entire life. Karen was the most beautiful woman Freddy had ever laid eyes on, and what stunned him the most was that the feeling was mutual. It had only taken a few days for both of them to realize that they had been waiting their whole lives for that one moment where they met.

One night, Karen and Freddy were sitting on the roof together, simply gazing at the stars. Freddy kept glancing down into Karen's eyes. He had tried numerous times to apologize for his family's actions, but she didn't want to hear it. Karen knew that he had never held any hostility towards monsters, so it didn't matter. Every time the subject came up, Karen simply answered him, "It's not your fault that your family wouldn't be willing to consider new facts." This time though, she added one new line that she had never said. "Please stop beating yourself up over it," with her smiling at Freddy, as she pulled him in close, "even though you do look really cute when you look guilty." The two had their eyes locked, and started to lean into each other. The moment felt right to both of them, and they found their lips being drawn closer and closer. Just then, a black bat with red eyes flew into view.  
Neither Karen nor Freddy saw the bat change back into his vampire form, but when their lips were less than an inch apart, he let out a vampiric roar. Freddy collapsed from fear, but Karen just scowled at Dracula. Dracula had never been scared of another monster before in his immortal life, but the look on Karen's face terrified him. "Sorry," he apologized to both of them, but Karen was irate at him. Dracula said very uncertain of himself, "I thought he was about to," but he had to pause to think of something that could excuse his behavior, "to attack you."

"That's a lie, and you know it!" she snapped at him. Karen and Freddy were about to have their first romantic kiss, and Dracula had to ruin it. Freddy began to regain consciousness, and staggered back to his feet, assisted by Karen. "Take it slow, my zing," Karen said softly.

"Wha-," Freddy said groggily, "what happened?" He was looking around trying to regain his bearings, looking right at Dracula.

"I'm sorry," Dracula answered sheepishly, worried that Karen would smack him. "I've just gotta get used to that."

"I'm not your daughter!" Karen snapped back towards him. "She told me what you did when they kissed their first time," she added shaking her head, while still holding Freddy. "Your first kiss is supposed to be one of those things you remember forever, and you had to ruin ours, just like you ruined theirs!"

Yet again, Dracula simply tried to apologize and leave them, but Freddy didn't want him to. The boy had questions about him, but Dracula wasn't ready to answer all of them to a complete stranger, who until recently had been a foe. Freddy finally relented a few minutes later, allowing Dracula to depart them.

"Well, that certainly was a buzzkill," Freddy said to Karen, with a smile returning to both of their faces. "I didn't know that he could do that."

"You mean the growl?" She asked, and he nodded in reply. "We all can, and some say that the female vampire's roar is even scarier than the male's."

"I doubt that," he challenged her, and a sinister look came over her face. However Karen's expression didn't have the intended effect on him. Freddy just smiled wider at her, which made Karen furious.

"ROARRRRR!" Karen let out one of the loudest roars she ever had before, displaying her monster face, but Freddy didn't even flinch. If anything his grin was even wider, and he leaned in closer to her. "You should have passed out again from that."

"It wasn't scary," he said as he kissed her on the forehead. "And besides, you look cute when your angry," which also made Karen smile again. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Karen answered. They sat again on the roof to watch the last few minutes of night, before the dawn would begin to break. After that, they went inside to Karen's room. She asked Freddy, "Have you thought about it anymore?"

"What?" He asked not completely sure what she wanted to know. It had only been two weeks since they met, but he was certain that she was the one he longed for his whole life.

"You know exactly what," she said sounding slightly annoyed. "Do you still want to be with me forever?"

"More than anything in the whole world," he answered.

"Are you really willing to go through with it?"

Freddy knew exactly what she meant now. "I am, but I think we should wait for the right moment." He had given a lot of thought to when he thought that might be, and Jenna had given him a suggestion. If he was really going to marry her, then wouldn't it be great if after they said their 'I do's' in front of all of their friends to have Karen turn him. Freddy looked right into Karen's eyes, asking her, "Would you want to be with me for the rest of your life?"

"You already know I do," she answered looking right into his eyes as well. "I've waited a long time for you." Their lips, once again, were drawn closer together, and yet again, they were interrupted. This time, though it was a blue mist that crept under the door.

Mavis had rematerialized into herself when Karen and Freddy were about to kiss, and she let out a slight gasp. Karen saw Mavis first, and she pulled away from Freddy and could only shake her head. "What is it with your family?" Karen asked slightly upset with Mavis.

Mavis felt embarrassed when Karen snapped at her. She had not intended to interrupt them, but Jenna had asked her to gather up all of the family, as they had some news they wanted to share with everyone. "Sorry," Mavis apologized worried that her aunt would still be mad at her, "but Jenna and Wilbur have something they want to tell everyone."

"What is it?" Freddy asked.

Mavis shrugged as she wasn't completely sure what they wanted to tell everyone. "I don't know, but they asked for everyone. You're the last two we have to get."

Karen and Freddy relented and walked downstairs with Mavis to the lobby, where a crowd had gathered. All of Mavis's extended family and her father's friends were there: Murray, Griffin, Wayne, Wanda, Frank, and Eunice. In addition, Mike, Linda, Troy, Connor, and Parker had also stayed to learn more about their powers. Sam had been hesitant to allow the boys to stay, but Brett was able to convince her. He remembered how much having Mavis's help, if only for a few days had helped him better harness and understand his abilities. They would stay until the beginning of August, when their parents would return to the hotel for an end of summer vacation, bringing them back with them as well. They also noticed that Mike had his iPad out, and could see Sam's image on it. Jonathan had set up skype, so Jenna and Wilbur could share their news with Sam, as well.

"So what was so important?" Karen asked still slightly annoyed that Mavis had interrupted what Karen had hoped would be hers and Freddy's first kiss.

Jenna looked nervous about something, but had a glow about her. "It's just that," Jenna paused for dramatic effect, "we're pregnant." Jenna had tried to hold back all of the excitement she had while telling her family. "We're gonna have a baby, or a few," she added chuckling. Jenna nor Wilbur were sure if they would have a litter, or just a single child at a time, but either way they were excited.

Mike was completely stunned by their news, but he was the only one who didn't show genuine happiness for the newlyweds. He wasn't quite ready for his baby girl to have grown up so quickly, but was still happy for them. It also meant another grandchild to spoil rotten.

Mavis was the only one who was not happy about the news. Something drew her mind to her deceased mother. With the news of the expectant parents, her mind was drawn to what she had been longing for a long time; a mother's love. She ran up to her room in tears, with only two people noticed her leave.

Mavis was lying on her bed in a full sob, repeating over and over, "How could you leave me." A pink mist crept under her door, and just stood there watching her while she waited for the right moment to comfort Mavis. "Why, why did they have to take you away from me?" Mavis knew who was to blame, but he had been dead for a long time. She wanted to take it out on Freddy, since it was his family who had killed Martha, but that would be unfair to him. Finally, sensing the moment was right, a woman's voice began to speak.

"You can't beat yourself up over this," Karen said as she rematerialized into her vampire form. "Think of all of the things your mother had set in motion." Karen hugged Mavis, while rubbing her back.

"But I miss mom so much," Mavis pleaded. "I never even got the chance to really meet her."

Karen could sense that there was another presence just outside the room, but was unable to see who it was. She remembered something that Martha had told her just after she had met Dracula in Hawaii. "Your mom told me when she first met your father that she had felt like she had met him before. She never could place him, but she had always said that…" but Karen was interrupted by someone knocking on the door.

"Mavy, you okay?" A man's voice asked through the door. Karen still was unsure of many of her family's voices, but Mavis recognized it immediately.

"Uncle Griffin," Mavis asked, "What is it?" She sounded slightly worried about his presence, but he was the best of her father's friends when it came to making someone feel better. He was almost even as good as Jonathan was at it.

"Can I come it?" He asked, as Mavis opened the door. Griffin had seen Mavis run upstairs, and guessed what was bothering her. He had overheard a conversation between Mavis and Jenna a few days before where Mavis said that she really missed her mother. Griffin had thought that with Jenna now being with child, that the hole in her heart would grow deeper. "I think I know what's wrong, and I think I can help," he said softly.

"Nothing's wrong," Mavis snapped at him. "I'm happy for Jenna." Mavis's face wouldn't allow her to lie to them. She hadn't been crying tears of joy.

Griffin remembered something that Linda had told him before. "If someone tries to convince you that nothing's wrong, then there is a very big something wrong." He led Mavis and Karen into Dracula's room, in order to show them the portrait of Martha he kept. Even though Mavis had seen it many times, something about it seemed different this time. The expression on her mother's face looked different. After a few minutes, Griffin said something that he thought Mavis really needed to know, "In German the word for 'goodbye' is 'auf weidersehen'. Translated literally, it means 'until we see again'. Similarly, in Italian, the word is 'arrivederci', which is translated to 'until we meet again'." If anything, this lesson was making Mavis even sadder.

Mavis looked at her uncle with tears returning to her eyes and asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

Griffin looked into Mavis's eyes, stroking her hair, and said lovingly, "Because when a vampire dies, they don't really die. Their spirit is split into two. The supernatural and the physical. In your mother's case, the supernatural is with Sam. I have heard stories in the past about a vampire's spirit being with multiple monsters, but this is the first time I have ever heard on one possessing a human." He switched his glance to Karen and saw how much she longed for her friend as well. "I know that it's true; a vampire never dies. We just have to find her."


	28. Is It Worth It

Chapter 28

Is It Worth It

Freddy still couldn't believe that he was seriously considering becoming a vampire. He had heard stories from his biological family of the cursed few who were turned into monsters, and had doomed themselves to an eternity of serving the beast who stole their humanity. With all that he had seen and experienced in the past few weeks, serving Karen might be the best thing that ever could happen to him. Not to mention that getting to spend eternity with her would be a blessing, not a curse.

He was lost in his thoughts when Mavis came into his room as a bat. "Dennis!" She was calling for her son, looking to see where he had run off to. She still hadn't gotten used to him having more vampire friends, and he tended to spend most of his free time with Connor.

Mavis noticed Freddy sitting on his bed not even paying attention to her. She could tell something deep was troubling him, and she wanted to help him with whatever it might be. She cleared her throat, at which Freddy finally looked up at her, startled since she was still in her bat form. "What's wrong?" She asked him as she sat next to him, turning back into her vampire form.

"Nothing," Freddy lied to her. He wasn't sure how to explain it to her, and if she'd even understand. She tilted her head and gazed into his eyes; she knew exactly what was wrong as she and Johnny had both struggled with the exact same question.

"You want to know if you should do it, don't you?" Mavis asked him, her eyes not hiding the fact that she had read his mind, even though Freddy didn't know that the color of her eyes gave it away. They were still red, but in the process of returning to their usual shade of blue. Freddy was worried about how he could explain this to her, but before he could, she added, "I fought the same thing with Johnny."

Freddy couldn't believe the couple had the same conflict he did currently. "Why did you struggle with it?"

Mavis looked guilty since she never told anyone that she had never told Jonathan about the possibility. Then she thought of Jonathan's reaction when he found out from Dracula that the two of them were supposed to discuss it before they wed. "I kinda knew that he'd want to, but I didn't know if I could have turned him."

"But couldn't your dad have done it?"

"Maybe," Mavis said frowning, "but my dad said that it is less dangerous if your zing does it. I was worried about taking too much of his blood, and maybe… well, you know." She couldn't admit that she was scared of possibly killing her zing.

Freddy hadn't thought of exactly how one was turned into a vampire, or if it was dangerous. He worried if Karen could do it to him, however he knew that she would if he wanted her to. Even though he had first asked about it, it was her who asked him if he still wanted to go through with it. "I don't know if I should."

"Maybe you should talk to my dad," Mavis said smiling at him, as she placed her right hand on his shoulder blade. "He knows more about it than he'd let you think."

"What do you mean?" Freddy had heard many of the legends and stories that the cursed Dracula had turned innocents into monsters in order to have more to serve him. But he never could have guessed the real reason.

"Just let him explain. And Johnny could help you too."

After Mavis left him, Freddy laid down to rest his eyes for a few minutes. He eventually dozed off, and had a dream. He saw his namesake and a strange woman in a black dress with a choker around her neck. The two appeared to be talking to each other near a lake as he walked over to them. "Hello, Freddy," the woman said softly to him with a large smile on her face.

Freddy had heard her voice before. It was the same one that he had heard come from Samantha when she was possessed when he first met all of them. He could only focus on her mouth, which contained two fangs similar in length to Mavis's. Freddy remembered the name that Dracula had shouted out when he heard that voice on that night. "Martha?" he asked

Martha simply smiled at him. "That is correct, Freddy. My name is Martha Lubov Dracula; Mavis's mother, and Karen's best friend."

"It's … an honor … ma'am," Freddy said despite being unsure how he should address her. There was something else that looked familiar about Martha; she bore a slight resemblance to his sister.

The older Frederick laughed at his nephew because of his awkwardness around Martha. Looking deep into his nephew's eyes, Frederick said softly while placing his right arm on Freddy's left shoulder, "It's worth it."

"What?" Freddy was surprised, as he didn't know how his uncle could have possibly known about the struggle he had been fighting since the night he met Karen, but trusted him.

"If you truly are in love with Karen, then you should do it," Martha said mirroring what his uncle had told Freddy. "I think that you'd enjoy being a vampire, and more importantly, I know that you two zinged. Talk to her or my husband if you have any questions. He knows the price you will pay better than you think."

"What does that mean?"

"Let's just say there is a reason he wears high collars all the time," Martha added chuckling. "Jacob could also help you."

Freddy woke up after hearing this, not noticing at first that Dracula had entered his room while he slept. Dracula had sat in an armchair in his room. When Freddy finally saw him, Freddy screamed, "What are you doing in here!"

"I'm sorry, it's just that Mavis said that you would want to talk about something," Dracula said to him in a fatherly tone.

As Freddy's eyes began to focus, he noticed that Dracula was not wearing his cape as normal, and something drew his attention to two marks on Dracula's neck. "I didn't know that a monster could get a hickey," Freddy said chuckling to Dracula.

"A hickey?" Dracula questioned to the human not sure of what he was referring to before he figured it out. "Oh, you are referring to the scars on my neck."

"Sorry," Freddy apologized to Dracula, worried why the vampire had snuck into his room.

"Yes, you see, I wasn't born a vampire," Dracula said as Freddy began to understand what Mavis and then the dream of Martha had told him, "I was turned by my father. But unlike why you are thinking about it now, and why Jonathan in the past thought about it, it was not out of love. Rather my father wished to have servants who would be completely loyal to him."

"So that's what she meant," Freddy said silently, but was horrified when Dracula looked as if he heard it as well.

"Do you mean Mavis?" Dracula asked, and Freddy nodded not wanting to mention the dream of his wife. "I told her about 7 years ago when we won the opportunity to open the hotel to humans. I knew one day she would have to turn Jonathan, even though he found his inner monster on his own."

"So is it worth it?" Freddy asked bluntly. His face almost looked as if he was afraid of what the answer would be

Dracula frowned, "There was a part of me that wished I would not have survived the transformation. But if that had happened, I never would have had Mavis, nor met Martha or Jonathan." Dracula noticed Freddy's expression, and shook his head. "No, Freddy. It had nothing to do with being a vampire, but rather the reason I hated it at first was that my father had me feed on humans for many years until I finally was sickened by it. But as I told Jonathan, when you are willing to go through it for love, then it is worth it."

"Does it hurt?"

"For me, yes, everything hurt," Dracula grimaced as he thought back to the day his father bit him. "The bite was painful, but that was only the beginning. As your body adjusts to the changes it can be the most excruciating thing you could imagine. I can only assume if rivals childbirth, although I cannot be certain. But I have heard stories of some those who were changed that the bite is actually quite pleasant, and some are unconscious when the physical changes occur, so they don't feel them."

"You still didn't answer my question." Freddy asked it again, "Is it worth it? Would you do it again if you had the choice?"

"I wouldn't even question it. I'd do it in a second."

"Thanks, Drac," Freddy said as he hugged the vampire. Dracula initially squirmed at the embrace of the human, but then realized that Freddy was expressing deep gratitude for telling him the truth. As he separated from Dracula, Freddy asked, "Is there anything I need to know for when we do it?"

A smile reappeared on Dracula's face. "First, it will only work on a full moon. Second and more importantly, you must have pure motives. If you wish to be a vampire simply for the powers you will get, you could end up like those damned bats who fought with your grandfather; nothing but a soulless monster. We have some time to talk about this, as you are still a very young man."

"I just want to be with her forever," Freddy said expressing his true reason.

Dracula smiled even wider at his unlikely friend, placing his left hand on his shoulder as he added, "And that is the most pure motive of all. Just remember that when the time finally arrives when you two do it, and you should be fine."

"So it has to be Karen?"

"Has to may be a little strong, but it is definitely less risky if it would be her." Dracula remained for a few minutes to answer a few more minor questions, before leaving Freddy to think about what he had said to him.

A few hours later, Jonathan visited his distant cousin. "What's up, cuz?" Jonathan asked, sporting a friendly smile.

"Can I ask you something personal?" Freddy asked, worried that Jonathan wouldn't want to talk about his decision to want to be transformed.

"I guess," Jonathan answered, not completely sure what he would want to talk about. He was humoring Mavis by coming to talk with Freddy, as she didn't explain to him the battle Freddy had been struggling with for the past few weeks.

"Why did you want to do it?" Jonathan looked unsure of what he was asking, and stared at Freddy for a few minutes before Freddy elaborated. "I mean why did you wanna be a vampire?"

"Oh, that," Jonathan said, followed by a sigh as he was relieved it wasn't getting as personal as he feared. "Well, the biggest reason was that I never wanted to put Mavis in the position of having to protect me again. I love her so much that I never wanted her to have to worry about me."

"Was that it?"

"Well, no. I mean, I want to spend forever with her too. I didn't wanna make her watch me get old and die."

"Thanks, Johnny."

"Anytime." Jonathan placed his right arm around the shoulders of Freddy and smiled at him. Freddy didn't realize how cold a vampire's touch was, as the contact with Jonathan almost made him shiver. "So, are you gonna do it?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe you should talk to Drac."

"Already have. I think he wants me to do it too."

Jonathan squeezed his arm slightly around the back of his neck lovingly, "Just trust yourself, dude."

Freddy was smiling again as he said, "Thanks, Johnny."

Freddy continued to think about it for the next few days, when Jacob, who had returned to the hotel for a short visit came to see him. "My sister says that she thinks I can help you," said Jacob as he led Freddy to the roof. The two sat down just below the peak of it in silence for a few minutes before Jacob added, "So, let me guess; you're thinking about being transformed, aren't you?"

Freddy gasped slightly, but realized that Jacob had told him that he was there at the request of Karen. Freddy thought, _She must have told him about it._ "Yeah, I guess," Freddy said nervously, afraid that Jacob may misunderstand. "I mean, Drac told me that you zinged with a human, right?" Jacob nodded at the question. "Did you guys do it, or even think about it?"

A sad smile came over Jacob's face. A very select few ever knew about his zing, Juliet. He had only told three monsters: Dracula, Karen, and Martha. He wasn't sure how many humans knew about the couple, but he knew that her family knew about their children, both of whom were girls that never developed vampiric abilities. "We talked about it many times, but she always decided against it. She didn't want to lose her family. Even after her parents passed away, I still couldn't convince her to be turned."

"Wait, her parents would have…" but Freddy was interrupted by Jacob.

"They most likely would have disowned her, and their grandchildren."

"That's horrible!" Freddy exclaimed, shocked that people could be so heartless to someone they love.

"It was, but this was more than 250 years ago; thank the stars that attitudes have changed somewhat."

"I don't understand why you didn't just do it anyway."

"That wouldn't have been fair to her," Jacob said frowning, as he placed his left hand on Freddy's shoulder. "Think of it this way, we had 40 really good years together, and I still am around to see what we had brought into the world through our descendants. If she would have survived, which would have been questionable with her not being a willing participant, what it she would have hated it?" A tear entered Jacob's eyes as he added, "And worse, what if she hated me for it?" Jacob shook his head as he added, "I couldn't have lived with her hating me, even if I did what I knew was best for us."

"So, should I?"

"You're different, Freddy. You don't have anything to give up," Jacob said, the tears disappearing from his eyes as he stretched his arm out to wrap it around the back of the boy's neck. "Everything you want is here, and with Karen. I think you should, but only you can know for certain."

"Well," Freddy said slowly, "there is my sister."

Jacob gasped. Freddy had never told anyone he had any family other than Gustav. "You have a sister?"

"Kind of. I mean she's not really my sister. My mom adopted her, but I love her the same."

"How old is she?"

"Well, about that," Freddy said trying to stall, "we're not really sure. I mean, I think she's about 16, but she didn't remember what year she was born."

"You must think about her, then. I am sorry; I thought you had no family left."

Despite the fact that it might mean losing his sister, Freddy was fairly sure he should do it. He still wasn't certain about what he would be in for, as Dracula hadn't been a completely willing participant, and Jonathan didn't feel the process. Even still, he knew he should do it.

He was about to tell Karen that he was ready to do it, but something stopped him the day before he was finally ready to tell her.

Frederick appeared to his nephew again in a dream, but this time he was alone. Freddy was unsure where Martha had went, but didn't ask about that. He could tell that his uncle had something much more pressing on his mind that he needed to be told.

"I see that you are about ready to do it," Frederick told his nephew, who nodded in reply. "However, there is something that I must ask you to do first."

"Anything, uncle," Freddy answered unsure of what would be requested of him.

"You must bring you sister her," Frederick said directly. "She has a secret that has been hidden from both you and your grandfather, but all will be revealed when the time is right."

"Why? What does Maggie have to do with any of this?"

"Margaret belongs here, Freddy." His uncle wouldn't explain anymore about why, because the truth would be too shocking for him at the present time. "There is one other thing, Freddy." The boy waited to see what instructions his uncle would give him. "You must not bring any of your new friends. If any of the hunters saw them, they would most likely try to engage them in battle, and that must be avoided at all costs."

"Yes, uncle. I will do it alone if I must."

"You don't need to do it alone, but there is only one person who could be of assistance to you."

"Who is that?"

"Do you remember Ivan?"

"Ivan?" Freddy had remembered that about 7 years ago they had lost one of their best snipers. His name had been Ivan. But, when they tracked the GPS device in his clothing, it led them to a bloodied corpse that was so badly destroyed they couldn't identify the person with certainty, and they just assumed that it was him, as he was dressed in the uniform, but it was ripped to shreds. "He's dead, if it's who I think it is."

"No, Freddy. He's not dead, but rather Dracula helped Ivan fake his own death in order to resume the life he had before Gustav kidnapped him." Freddy was in tears as he realized that many of the soldiers that he was around were either convicts or kidnapped, but in either case they were indoctrinated into believing that monsters were vicious and brutal. "Dracula knows where he lives now, and could probably help you find him."

"Okay, uncle. I will ask Drac about him."

"I always knew that you weren't like your grandfather," Frederick said smiling at his nephew, as he ran his fingers through Freddy's hair. "Thank you for redeeming our family."

Freddy woke up again from his dream, again not sure what it meant. The only thing that he remembered was that he had promised to bring his sister to the hotel.

Technically, Maggie wasn't his sister by blood, but his mother had adopted her after she found her abandoned one day as she walked after the death of her husband. Freddy's mother always wanted to have more children, but her husband, Andrew died just after she became pregnant with Freddy. Several years later, Gustav allowed her to adopt Margret, even though there was always something a little different about her. This didn't stop Gustav from training her to continue in the family trade, even though she despised it even more than Freddy did.

Dracula had almost forgotten about Ivan. Even though Dracula had invited Ivan to vacation at the hotel at no expense if he ever wished to, he never came to visit. Wilbur had also wanted him to serve as a groomsman at his wedding, since the two had met when they were both young. Still, Wilbur never received a reply to the request, and feared the worse about his friend. "I can lead you to his home, if you wish," Dracula told Freddy as he prepared to depart.

"Drac, I can't ask you to come. Uncle says that it could start a battle if you do."

"I am willing to take that risk."

"But I'm not!" Freddy shouted bluntly. "Too many people here depend on you."

Dracula eventually relented, and told Freddy where Ivan had settled after he left the hotel. He only asked one thing in return for this; that being to bring Ivan to the hotel so his friends could see him one more time. This was a condition that Freddy was more than willing to agree.

Freddy left the next morning to return to his former home in Bucharest. He had told all of his friends that he would return as soon as possible, but there was something he needed to do before he could fully commit to being with Karen forever, along with everything that entailed. Upon hearing this, Karen was fairly sure that Freddy had made up his mind about being transformed, and he would probably do it.

Needless to say, everyone wished to accompany Freddy on his journey, but he had to politely decline. His uncle said that he needed to complete this quest without any of his new friends. But that didn't stop two small bats from stowing away in the hearse he borrowed for his journey.


	29. Stowaways

Chapter 29

Stowaways

Freddy had driven about an hour from the hotel, when he decided to stop to get something to eat. Since he had arrived to the hotel, Freddy ate what they had there, but he was craving some pierogi. The new chef at the hotel wasn't quite as good as Quasimodo was, but at least he didn't try to cook the human guests. Dumplings was a food that he just didn't know how to make.

Freddy stopped at a roadside delicatessen and ordered a sample plate of pierogi. He had been eating for about five minutes, when he thought he saw the car move more than could be attributed to the wind. He didn't see any more movement, so he finished eating.

After finishing, Freddy returned to the hearse and resumed driving. He had been traveling for about twenty minutes, when he heard a young voice coming from the back of the car say, "I gotta go to the bathroom."

Freddy nearly swerved off the pavement at the sound of the voice. No one was supposed to be with him, but he clearly heard a boy's voice. He pulled over and began to search where he had thought that the voice had come from. To his horror, he found two small bats lying on the floor in the back of the hearse; one had blue eyes with a tuft of red hair, the other brown eyes and black fur with just a tint of red. He knew exactly who the two were before they turned into their vampire forms.

"What are you two doing here?!" Freddy asked shouting, scared to death that they had come along with him.

"We wanna help you, Uncle Freddy." Dennis said as he floated next to him, returning to his vampire form, while Connor flew next to Dennis still as a bat.

"What are you talking about?" Freddy attempted to lie to his friends' children, hoping that they didn't know why he had left the hotel.

"I heard you talking to Papa Drac," Dennis answered smiling. "You're gonna bring someone back, and we wanted to help."

Freddy was nervous, as there was a part of him that was grateful that the boys had wanted to help him. However, that part of him was dwarfed by the realization that Mavis would want to kill him when she found out that they were with him. "Did you tell your parents, Dennis?"

Dennis frowned. He knew he probably should have told them, but was worried that his mom would have said no. He couldn't speak, and only shook his head as he hung his head feeling guilty.

Freddy knew he was a dead man if he didn't call Mavis immediately, since Jonathan had told him how nuts she could be when it came to Dennis. Freddy couldn't blame her, as his mother had been the same way with him, at least until she left three years ago.

Back at the hotel, Mavis was frantically searching for Dennis and Connor. Neither of the other children had a clue where they had gone, not even Winnie. Jonathan or Dracula didn't know either. Jonathan speculated that they were probably just out flying around the forest, since they knew that Mavis couldn't go out there since the sun was still up.

Jonathan was about to go search for them, and he had just turned into a bat in a reddish mist. His eyes remained their normal color in his bat form, and like Dennis, he had a tuft of his hair on his head that was still disheveled. He had just gone out the window of his room when he heard his cell phone ring. Returning inside, he landed and turned back into his regular form. He saw a number that wasn't instantly familiar but answered it. "Hello?" Jonathan greeted not completely sure who was on the other end.

"Hey Johnny," the voice on the other end replied, and Jonathan smiled realizing it was Freddy.

"Oh, what's up Freddy? I'm gonna have to add you to my phone book. Wasn't sure who was calling me."

Freddy was so eager to call that he didn't think about what he would say. But luckily, Jonathan would ask first. "Hey, Mavis is goin' crazy around here looking for Dennis and Connor. You don't know where they are, do you?"

"Well, about that," Freddy said tentatively, not sure about how to tell them. "Yeah, uh, is … uh Mavis there with you?"

"Naw, she's still looking for them. I was about to go to the forest to look."

"Yeah, you don't need to do that, 'cause …" but Freddy trailed off in an incoherent ramble.

"I missed the last part, bud," said Jonathan assuming that it was just an issue with their connection.

Mavis heard Jonathan talking to someone on the phone, and rushed into their room. "Is that Dennis?" Mavis asked hopefully.

Jonathan lowered the phone to whisper, "No, it's Freddy."

"Is that Mavis?" Freddy asked with a sense of dread beginning to fill him. He suspected that she'd want to kill him, and he knew that she'd probably be right to.

Jonathan assumed that since he asked about her, that he wanted to talk to her also, so he put the phone on speaker just as Dennis shouted, "Is that mommy?"

"Dennis!" Mavis screamed, relieved to finally know where her son was. That didn't last, as she was now furious with Freddy. "What are you doing with my son?!"

"Mavis, promise me that you'll at least hear me out," Freddy pleaded with the vampiress, hoping that she might calm down a little.

It didn't work as she snapped at him, "So help me, if he gets hurt with you, I'm gonna kill you, and it will be slow and painful," said Mavis making sure to stress the last part by saying it coldly and callously. Mavis's eyes were completely black, almost looking like she didn't have any eyes. Rather they looked as if she had nothing where he eyes should have been, and looked like she was devoid of any emotion.

The way Mavis spoke terrified Jonathan almost as much as it did Freddy. This wasn't his wife speaking, but rather something else. Neither of them could speak, until Dennis tried to vouch for his uncle. "Mommy, don't be mad at Uncle Freddy. We hid in the car."

"Oh, my!" Mavis gasped as she realized what she had done; she had completely rushed to judgement with Freddy thinking that he wanted to hurt the boys. Her eyes returned to their normal color, and they were gleaming from the beginning of tears. She should have known better, as Karen loved Dennis even more than she loved Mavis. She also knew the feeling from Freddy towards both her and Dennis was the same as Karen's, and he would never do anything that would hurt his zing. Why else would he be so seriously considering becoming a vampire? "Freddy, I'm so sorry," Mavis apologized as Freddy could hear Mavis in a sob.

"It's okay, Mavis," Freddy said, accentuated with a chuckle. He hoped that humor might break the ice, so he added, "My mom was kind of the same way. Did you want to come and get them?"

"Sure, but I'll have to wait until night." Mavis thought where he could be going, but didn't have any idea. "Where will you guys be?"

"You know where that old ruined castle north of the hotel?"

Another tear entered Mavis's eyes. She hadn't been to her mother's castle since before she married Jonathan, and she still remembered the presence she felt when they went there when they took Ivan back to his old home. Mavis thought of her friend, and wondered if he possibly still lived in that home. This could be an opportunity to see him as well. "Yeah," Mavis said after a minute, trying not to show her true emotions about the castle.

"I'm supposed to meet someone there. Well, not there, but in the village. I guess I can get a hotel room and continue tomorrow."

Jonathan wondered who he was going to meet. "Where are you going, anyway?" Jonathan asked, hoping Freddy would tell him.

Connor shouted the answer before Freddy could, "Uncle Freddy's gonna bring someone back!"

As soon as Connor began to speak, Freddy tried to shush him. He couldn't allow Mavis to find out the truth, as he feared that she, more than anyone else would want to come to help him. And if she came, that would lead to almost everyone coming. Freddy remembered what his uncle had said, that bringing the vampires would lead to a battle. He had to go alone.

"I can help," Mavis said.

"No!" Freddy said forcefully. "I gotta do this myself. Just please meet me tonight to get your kids!" Freddy said dismissively. He hated talking about the boys that way, as he liked them too, but he knew that she couldn't be allowed to accompany him to Bucharest.

"Okay, Freddy." Mavis said, displaying a frown which made Jonathan tear up. He always hated to see his wife upset or sad, but he figured that Freddy had a reason for what he had done. Jonathan also knew that Freddy would apologize when he got back, as he really liked Mavis as a friend too. "I'll meet you at the castle about an hour after sunset, okay?"

Freddy had regretted snapping at Mavis as well. "Sounds good, Mavis."

Mavis was relieved that she had found the boys, and she knew that Freddy would keep the boys safe. Jonathan still looked shocked that she would have threatened Freddy the way that she did, "Mavis, I-" but Mavis didn't let him finish his sentence.

"I can't believe that I said that to him," Mavis said with tears entering her eyes. "I should of known better." Jonathan placed his right arm around her the back of her neck as he pulled he head onto his shoulder. "I'm such a monster."

"But Mavis, you are a monster," Jonathan said softly, while rubbing her back. "So am I, and so are Dennis and Connor. And probably Freddy too, someday."

Mavis scowled at Jonathan as she pulled away from his embrace. "You know what I mean," she said angrily.

Jonathan chuckled at his wife. "Yeah, I do. You were scared for the boys, and forgot about who they were with. I know he understands."

"I hope so," Mavis said as Jonathan pulled her back into his shoulder, kissing her on the forehead.

Mavis and Jonathan slept for about 4 hours that day. Mavis wanted to leave as soon as possible, and considered driving, as she could have left earlier, but she knew that flying to the castle would only take an hour, while driving would take almost four. She left the hotel as soon as the sun had set, and set her course for her mother's castle.

Jonathan had wanted to come, but Mavis asked him to stay behind with their other two nephews. "Someone's gotta watch them, and I don't trust my dad," she said only slightly joking. Mavis still remembered that her father had thrown Dennis off of the tower at the camp, and feared he might do the same to the boys. "I don't want him throwing them off the roof trying to teach them how to fly," this statement was accentuated with a chuckle, but Jonathan knew that she was only half kidding.

Freddy had texted Mavis what hotel and room he would be in when they checked in, and asked her to meet him there instead of the castle. She arrived just after 10:00, and entered the lobby to proceed on foot at a human pace to their room. Mavis wasn't used to seeing regular human motels. There was nothing except a piece of cardboard on some of the doors that said 'Do not disturb', instead of the talking shrunken heads that she was used to. She started to knock on the door, but Dennis had seen her coming down the hallway, and tackled her as he screamed, "Mommy!"

Freddy shook his head at his nephew and he helped Mavis up and into the room. "I'm sorry, Mavis. I should of checked" but Mavis interrupted him by placing her left index finger to his lips, silencing him.

"I should be apologizing, Freddy," Mavis said with a tear in her left eye. "I should of known better. You wouldn't hurt the boys, and I never should of threatened you."

"I get it. I really like the boys too."

"I know you do, Freddy." The two continued apologizing to each other for another five minutes before Dennis and Connor began to get restless. Dennis went to his mother and started to pull on her dress. "Yes, baby?"

"Mom," Dennis protested in a sing-song voice, "I'm six. Stop treating me like a little kid."

Freddy interjected on Mavis's behalf, "You'll always be her baby, and there's nothing you can do about it." Mavis smiled at Freddy's help, and nodded at Dennis.  
"So, why did you need to come here?" Mavis asked to Freddy.

"I'm supposed to get someone to help me go home." Freddy lowered his head with a frown on his face. The old headquarters of the Van Helsings wasn't his home anymore, but rather his home was wherever Karen was. "I'm supposed to bring my sister to the hotel."

"Wait, you have a sister?" Mavis asked shocked.

"Well, she an adopted sister, but I still love her the same."

"So who were you supposed to get to help?"

"He used to be a sniper for my grandfather, but we lost him years ago." Freddy shook his head. "I mean 'they'. They lost him years ago," Freddy corrected himself. He was no longer one of them, and was embarrassed he had said 'we'.

Mavis remembered that fateful day of the hearing that allowed the hotel to be opened to humans. Dracula had been shot by a sniper named Ivan, who had been brainwashed by Gustav Van Helsing into thinking that monsters had killed his parents, when in reality it was Gustav who did. She remembered that she and Jonathan had helped him to purchase his old home and resume his life after her and Dracula had helped him to fake his own death.

Freddy confirmed that he was seeking her old friend, "His name is Ivan, and he supposedly lives nearby."

"Holy Rabies!" Mavis exclaimed, desiring to see her friend again. "Could I go with to meet him?"

Freddy's uncle had said that they couldn't go to Bucharest, but doubted it would hurt anything if they went to meet Ivan. Based on Mavis's reaction, Freddy assumed that they had met before, so it couldn't hurt. "I guess," Freddy said sounding slightly unsure. "But what about the kids?"

"They'll wait in the car, won't you?" Mavis instructed the children, her eyes turning red as she displayed her fangs towards them. It elicited no reaction from Dennis other than him rolling his eyes, but Connor pulled away from his cousin, scared of his aunt for the first time.

"Yes Aunt Mavis/Mom," they replied in unison, Connor sounding terrified, while Dennis was annoyed.

The four of them got into the hearse, and drove to the address that Dracula had given to Freddy. It was a small, two-story house with blue siding and black shutters. The home looked cozy enough for a small family, and there was a small fenced in yard of about ¼ acre, with a few maple and pine trees in the yard.

They remained in the hearse for a few minutes before they noticed a light turn on inside. Upon seeing this, Mavis and Freddy headed for the front door, both nervous if the one they were hopeful to see still lived there. Mavis rang the doorbell, and waited about thirty seconds for the door to begin to open. The last thing that Freddy thought was, _Please be him. Please be Ivan._

 **Author's Note** : Guys, I wanted to tell you about a new project I have started. I'm branching out from HT, and going to a different universe. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the _Women of the Otherworld_ novel franchise, but I have begun a story that follows the end of the first novel of the series, _Bitten_. The television series of the same name as the novel is also based on that series, and is available on Netflix. It involves a pack of werewolves, but unlike in HT, they look human until they change into wolves. I will warn you that the novel and the television series both have adult themes, sexuality, and strong language; I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under 15. The story is called _Adding to the Pack_ , and I'd appreciate it if you check it out.

Also, I hope it goes without saying, but Merry Christmas, and everything else that goes with this time of year to all of my readers.


	30. A Happy Reunion

**Author's Note:** New OC's

Ivan was a monster hunter and sniper who worked for the Van Helsings. He appeared in my other story, _The Ties That Bind_ beginning in Chapter 18, where he shoots Dracula. He is ultimately forgiven by Dracula and Mavis after they realize that he was under the control of the Van Helsings, after Gustav had murdered his parents for harboring a monster in their home and brainwashed the boy. To completely escape the Van Helsings, Dracula and Mavis helped Ivan fake his own death. At this point, he is 31, but looks young for his age. The reason will be explained in this and the next chapter. He is voiced by Ben Savage.

Virginia is a vampire, currently 176 years old, making her look in her early twenties in human years. She is one of the few vampires with dark auburn hair, and has very pale skin. She is voiced by Kellie Pickler.

* * *

Chapter 30

A Happy Reunion

It had taken Freddy only twenty minutes to drive from the hotel he had stayed at to the address that Dracula had given him. Freddy remained in the hearse for a few minutes after pulling up to the home, which was a modest two story house, with blue siding and black storm shutters. He had his hands folded as he said a small prayer, hoping that this was his intended destination, and his ally still lived there.

Mavis recognized the house the second they pulled up to it. The home was a basic row home that looked largely identical to its neighbors other than it had dark blue siding with black storm shutters.

It had been a little more than seven years since she last seen Ivan, and wondered how much he had changed in that time. Mavis noticed that Freddy was still sitting in the car thinking, so she cleared her throat, which made him look at her. "You ready?" Mavis asked as she patted him on the shoulder.

Freddy looked incredibly nervous. He wondered why his uncle wanted him to come to this place, and he thought, _Why would I need help to bring Maggie to the hotel. If she belongs there, shouldn't she want to come_? Freddy was convinced that there had to be another reason why he was supposed to find Ivan, but wasn't sure of the reason.

Freddy didn't say anything, as he opened the door and began to get out. Mavis did the same. As she stepped out of the car, Mavis turned to the children and said sternly, "I mean it. Don't get out of this car until one of us comes for you two."

Dennis rolled his eyes at his mother because he hated how much she babied him. While Connor nodded his head at his aunt, since he was still sacred of her.

The two adults walked towards the door side by side with completely different expressions on their faces. Freddy was scared of why he was there; while Mavis was hopeful that she would see her friend again.

Upon reaching the door, Mavis knocked on it. Less than a minute later, a woman who looked to be slightly older than her answered the door. "Can I help you?" she asked, sporting a narrow smile that kept her lips close together.

Mavis focused on her mouth for some reason. When she and Jonathan first met his family, she had done almost the same thing to keep the fact she was a vampire secret.

The three stood in silence for a minute, before Freddy finally was able to say tentatively, "I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for an old friend of mine who used to live here."

"Oh," the woman who lived there answered, but this time Mavis thought she saw something when she opened her mouth to speak. "Do you know his name?"

"It's Ivan Ludiwig, or it was."

The woman gasped at hearing the name. "How do you know Ivan?" she asked terrified that he had been discovered by people who might want to kill him for deserting the Van Helsings not realizing that the vampire hunters had all but been eliminated.

"Well," Freddy started, but stopped the second that he saw Ivan. He instantly recognized the former sniper, who surprisingly looked very similar to how he remembered him last. "Ivan!" Freddy yelled towards him.

Ivan stared at him for a minute before he recognized Mavis. "Holy Rabies!" he yelled, ecstatic that she had come to visit. "Mavis Dracula, how are you. Damn it's been too long!"

Ivan rushed to the door much too quickly for a human, and Mavis began to suspect something about him and this woman he was living with. She assumed that they were married, but wasn't completely sure since neither of them wore a ring. Either way, he embraced Mavis when he met her on their stoop, and the couple invited Freddy and Mavis inside. Before they entered, Mavis waved at the car, and the two dhampirs rushed to the door as fast as they could.

When all four of the travelers entered, Ivan turned to Freddy, to ask him, "I'm sorry, but I am not sure who you are."

"It's okay, Ivan," Freddy said which made Ivan gasp slightly. "My name is Arthur Frederick Van Helsing."

Ivan and his housemate pulled back from them, and raised their lips exposing the fact that they both had vampiric fangs in their mouth. For the first time, Freddy noticed that Ivan had two puncture marks on the left side of his neck that looked almost identical to Dracula's.

Before there could be any further misunderstandings, Mavis stepped in between everyone, and turned into a bat exposing the fact that she was also a vampire. This stopped Ivan and his friend, who both lowered their lips.

"Sorry about that," Ivan said frowning. "I heard the name 'Van Helsing' and assumed you were here for me."

"Well, I kind of am," Freddy said raising his hands with his palms facing away from him. He was trying to assure them that they meant them absolutely no harm. "I was supposed to find you to help me bring my sister to Mavis's father's hotel.

Ivan stared at him. He had remembered that Gustav had killed Freddy's father the same night that he killed Ivan's parents. Ivan tried to think how he could possibly have a sister. Freddy noticed the confused look on Ivan's face, so he added, "I mean, she's adopted, so…" but he trailed off into a nervous mumble.

"Oh," Ivan said understanding. He thought for a minute before he hugged Mavis again. "Mavis Dracula," he said smiling at his friend, "I owe you even more now than I thought I did when we last parted." As they separated, Ivan realized that he still hadn't introduced them to his wife, which made Ivan face-palm. "Holy Rabies, where are my manners?" Ivan placed his left arm around his wife's waist. "This is Virginia, my wife and my zing," he said as he kissed her on the cheek, a large grin on both of their faces.

Dennis gasped at the realization of what Virginia was. "So you're like Mommy and Papa Drac?" he asked to Virginia.

Virginia assumed that the boy meant that she was also a vampire, so she not only opened her mouth to show her fangs, which were slightly more pronounced than Mavis's, but she also turned into a brown bat with hazel eyes. Virginia flew over the two boys' heads for a second before Dennis and Connor's eyes met and they also turned into bats and chased her for a moment before Virginia returned to her vampire form. The two boys remained flying for a few seconds before they also turned back.

As Virginia was flying, Mavis noticed a little bump in her midsection, and when she turned back, she was slightly short of breath. She smiled at her new friend, and Mavis asked, "How far along are you?"

Virginia smiled as she had recently found out that she was pregnant with their first child, "About two months." This also elicited a smile from Ivan, who was happy that someone would understand what they were going through. Virginia looked at the boys and asked Mavis, "Twins?"

Mavis laughed at Virginia's question. "No, Dennis is mine, but Connor is my nephew."

"Oh. Sorry," Virginia apologized, embarrassed she had assumed they were both Mavis's.

"But I don't get it," Mavis said turning to Ivan, "you weren't a vampire when we met the first time."

"I owe Ginny," Ivan said smiling. "I still can't believe that she forgave me for what I did to her family, but she did, and we zinged."

"What happened?" Freddy asked.

Ivan frowned as he began to tell the story. "I killed all of her family. I was proud of it at the time, since they were my first, but ten years ago I killed what I thought was an entire family of vampires; a mother, father, and a son." The beginning of tears could be seen in both Freddy's and Ivan's eyes, which confused Virginia. She understood why her husband would be crying, but couldn't understand why a Van Helsing would be. "Thank the stars that I didn't get the daughter, or I would never have met my love."

"I'm sorry," Freddy said, tears beginning to flow from his eyes, "I just learned the truth about you guys, and" but Freddy couldn't say any more, as he broke down in tears. Mavis started to rub his back to comfort him, and he was able to calm down slightly.

"How'd you guys meet?" Mavis asked curious about how someone could have ever forgive one responsible for killing their whole family. Ivan and Virginia both smiled as they prepared to share the story of their first meeting.

* * *

Flashback, 7 years ago (the same day as Mavis's and Jonathan's wedding), same home

Ivan was outside of his home. The sun had just set, and he was trying to finish one last chore for the day on his recently reacquired house. In the past three months, he had restored much of the home, but it was still a work in progress. Ivan was working on planting a new shrub when something lunged at him, and tackled him.

Ivan could tell that it was a female, with glowing red eyes and long, sharp, vampiric looking fangs in her mouth. Ivan blinked a few times, watching his life pass before his eyes. He hated much of what he saw, and tears began flowing from his eyes; not from fear, but from regret. He couldn't believe all the evil he had done and hurt that he had caused in his short life, and there would be no way for him to even try to make amends for it.

The vampiress had instantly recognized the human working in the yard as the same one who had killed her family. Rage burned deep inside of her, which caused her claws to grow and fangs to lengthen. After watching him for a few minutes, and when she was sure no one was watching him she pounced on him. The impact was significant, as she head a distinct crack when they landed. She was sure that she had cracked at least a few of his ribs, as she hoped to make his demise as painful as possible.

When the vampiress saw his tears, she stopped. These weren't tears from pain, but from something much deeper; a sense of shame and remorse. She never expected that the one who had killed her family, could look to be deeply remorseful. The vampiress used her still glowing red eyes to look deep into the eyes and the soul of her target. She saw the fateful day that he killed her family; she saw that day when Ivan's family was killed by the monster hunter. She also saw all of the lies that the hunter had told the boy trying to convince him of the wickedness of monsters. But more importantly, she finally saw the fateful encounter a few months before when Mavis and Dracula forgave him for all of his prior bad deeds.

Virginia rolled off of Ivan, and offered her hand to help him up. Her eyes began to return to their normal hazel, and a tear could been seen gleaming in them. Ivan looked stunned, as he knew something about this vampiress looked familiar, although he couldn't place her.

"I don't get it," Ivan said as he took her hand. "Why didn't you just kill me?"

Virginia shrugged her shoulders. She didn't know either, but she remembered something that her mother always told her. 'Death is sometimes more merciful than some people deserve.' Virginia thought that this man might be one of those people that this applied to. She saw the guilt in his eyes, and knew that it was much more painful than she could ever inflict on him.

Ivan began to look into Virginia's eyes; they were the most beautiful orbs he had ever seen. That's when it happened. Their eyes locked, and a gentle flash of light could be seen in both of their eyes. Ivan was completely smitten with her, but he wasn't sure if she might had been.

Tears began filling Virginia's eyes. She had come to kill the man who she happened to zing with. However, the realization went much deeper than this; a Zing wasn't a chance thing. It only happened when you met the one that you were destined to spend the rest of your life with. Virginia wondered why she zinged with a hunter, even if it looked like he had given up on that mission.

Ivan took Virginia's hands, and said, "I'm sorry." Tears now filled both of their eyes. "I've done some horrible things in the past. I don't know if they affected you or not, but all I know now is that I think I'm in love with a monster," his look of shame replaced with a smile.

Virginia was absolutely stunned. It wasn't because he called her a 'monster', as this was simply a descriptive term of their kind, but rather because she believed everything he said. This was and wasn't the same man who killed her family. Physically, yes it was the same person. However it looked as if the soul was completely different, as he looked to have been purified. Virginia chuckled at him, revealing a beautiful smile as she said, "That's great because I think I'm in love with a human.

End Flashback

* * *

"Mavis, you not only forgave me for shooting Dracula," Ivan said, tears still visible in his eyes, despite the smile on his face, "you saved me. You cleansed my soul, and made it possible for other monsters to forgive me."

Freddy knew from his own experience how forgiving that Mavis and Dracula could be. They didn't hold his grandfather's quest against him, and they treated him like a member of the family. The vampires had saved him just like they did Ivan.

Dennis and Connor began to look bored, so the adults all moved outside to the back yard. At first Mavis was nervous about it, since she wasn't sure if their neighbors knew about them being vampires.

"All of our friends in the area know," Ivan said, reassuring her. "Everyone else who lives around us, knows that we're 'night owls', so they expect some noise overnight."

"They're all okay with it?" Freddy asked.

"Every one," Virginia answered smiling.

"I mean, a few were scared at first, but that ended quickly. I mean now we're practically the superstars of the neighborhood," Ivan said laughing. "All the kids want us to carry them around."

"Even though we wouldn't do it," Virginia added chuckling. "I don't want to have to explain it we accidentally dropped one of them.

The boys flew around the yard, playing tag and hide-and-go-seek while the adults sat on a patio just talking. It didn't take long for Freddy to discover the reason why his uncle wanted him to find Ivan, and it had nothing to do with needing assistance to get his sister. Rather, Ivan's council would be the final advice he would need to make his decision. Freddy remembered that Mavis had said that he wasn't a vampire before. That only meant one thing; he had been turned in the same way that he would be if he was to ask Karen to.


	31. Ivan's Transformation

Chapter 31

Ivan's Transformation

Ivan, Virginia, Freddy, and Mavis were sitting around a table in the backyard of Ivan's and Virginia's home. The three vampires were sipping on blood beaters, while Freddy had a bottle of water. Connor and Dennis were flying around as bats chasing each other, the sounds of the night accented with the laughs and giggles of the playing boys. After about five minutes of idle conversation, Freddy was finally able to ask Ivan the question that he had on his mind since he found out the Ivan had once been human.

"So Ivan," Freddy asked tentatively, worried that he might not want to talk about his decision to be transformed into a vampire, "Mavis said that you weren't a vampire the last time she saw you, right?"

"Nope," Ivan answered smiling more at Virginia than Freddy, "I was human 'til about 6 years ago. That's when we did it."

"Did what?" Freddy asked, even though he already suspected the answer.

"That's when this lovely lady turned me. April 4th was the best day of my life," Ivan said as he leaned into kiss Virginia on the left cheek. "Our wedding day, and my first as a vampire." Ivan thought for a second before he corrected himself, "Or should I say our wedding night."

"Why did you?" Mavis asked. She still regretted the fact that she never had the discussion with Jonathan until a few months ago.

"I didn't want to ever have to give this up," Ivan answered as he held his hands in the direction of Virginia. He then used his hands so that his thumb and forefinger on both hands formed a rectangle, and looked at Virginia as if she was in a picture. "Looks like a movie star to me."

"Oh you kidder," Virginia said blushing slightly, accompanied with a giggle.

"What's it like," Freddy asked, which only elicited a nervous look from both Ivan and Virginia. He assumed that they thought he was asking them to turn him as well, so he pulled out his phone to show them a picture of Karen and him. "This is my zing, Karen."

Virginia saw the other vampiress in the picture, and understood why Freddy had sought them out. "Oh, so you too, huh?" She asked smiling.

"Yeah, I guess," Freddy answered, his breathing becoming slightly faster, and beads of sweat began to appear on his brow.

Ivan still was unsure of what exactly he was being shown. "So is she a vampire too?"

"Yep," Mavis answered smiling, sensing that Freddy was getting very nervous. "She was my mom's best friend before she died. Kinda weird that she zinged with a Van Helsing."

"Why?" Ivan asked, assuming that Mavis forgot what he had done before he met them. "I used to work for them, and that didn't stop us from being accidentally in love." Ivan had sang the last three words in he style of the song of the same name. "I even killed Virginia's family, and she even forgave me for that. And now we'll be together for eternity." A large smile was on Ivan's face as he confessed his love for his wife.

"Can I ask you about it?" Freddy asked nervously as he looked right at Ivan and Virginia, who both nodded. They had both figured out why he had come to them, and it had nothing to do with needing Ivan's help to get his sister.

"What do you want to know?" Ivan asked with a sigh.

* * *

Flashback, 6 years prior, same home

One month had past since Ivan finally had the nerve to ask Virginia to marry him. She was completely surprised when he dropped to a knee, and produced a ring from his pocket. Of course she said yes, and that night the subject of turning him came up for the first time. Ivan had no family left, so there wasn't any reason for him to remain human, and it only required a minimal amount of convincing.

It hadn't taken long for the couple to make new friends. Their next door neighbor was the curator at the ruins of Castle Lubov, and had believed the story that what lived there in the past wasn't simply a noble family, but something much more. She believed the rumors that it was a family of vampires, but unlike many of the legends about their kind she believed that they were friendly. But what intrigued her the most, was that she had found remnants of many paintings and pictures that suggested that one of the residents was an extremely talented artist.

Their neighbor's husband, who was a local Justice of the Peace had agreed to officiate the ceremony when they were finally ready to wed. By that time, they had made many friends in the village , and almost all of them were in attendance. It was a beautiful ceremony under a gorgeous full moon, but there was another reason why that Ivan and Virginia had selected that date for their wedding.

Ivan had asked that they wait to turn him until the night that they said their wedding vows. As soon as they finished a small reception, the party broke up quickly; yet another advantage of having the ceremony at 10:00 PM. The couple assumed that their friends thought they were doing something different, and they didn't give them any reason to doubt it. Like a classic scene, Ivan carried Virginia to their bedroom, and after he set her down on her feet, she began final preparations for the procedure.

Ivan laid in the bed as Virginia began to strap his arms, legs, and chest down. This was necessary to prevent him from any extra movement. Next was his head, it was also restrained. The immobility of the head and neck was crucial, as Ivan's body might instinctively protest the draining of his blood. The last thing Virginia did was wipe the sight on the side of Ivan's neck where she would bite him with a damp cloth.

"Are you ready?" Virginia asked lovingly to her newly wedded husband. She knew the answer before he even replied.

A large, but nervous smile came over Ivan's face. He never thought for a minute before meeting Virginia that he would ever have found his zing, let alone that she was a vampire. "Do it, my love" he whispered to his wife.

Virginia matched Ivan's smile, as she gave him one final kiss while he was still a human. She was going to miss this; the warmth of his kiss and touch, but to be with Ivan forever his body heat was a small sacrifice to make. Then she stuffed a new undershirt into his mouth. The purpose of the shirt was to prevent the sounds of any screaming, as they didn't want anyone to find out what they were attempting. Even though their friends knew the truth about Virginia, they didn't know that they planned to do what they were about to do.

Virginia opened her mouth, her fangs lengthening to almost twice their normal size as she leaned close to Ivan's neck. They both grabbed the other's right hand, and Virginia pressed her lips to his flesh. Ivan's breathing became faster, more like panting as he prepared himself for what he expected, although it didn't come as quickly as he was prepared for. She nuzzled his neck for a few seconds, which sent a wave of passion through Ivan's body before she finally pierced his skin with her fangs and began to drink his blood, as Ivan shuttered slightly when Virginia's fangs entered his body.

She drank for about five minutes until Virginia felt his pulse slow to about half of its normal rate, at which point she stopped sucking but allowed her fangs to remain in his neck for about another thirty seconds. She withdrew her mouth from his neck. Time was now of the essence, so acting quickly, Virginia reached for the cloth in his mouth with her left hand, pulling it out, and in one motion sliced the same wrist with one of her fangs as she quickly replaced it to his lips. Ivan drank greedily for a few seconds before Virginia felt his pulse stop, but Ivan remained drinking, only at a slightly slower rate.

Virginia knew that his change had been successful at that moment. One of the first signs of a successful vampiric transformation was that despite a lack of heartbeat, the body continues to function. Of course the lack of heartbeat lasted only for about three quarters of a minute. When Virginia felt his heart restart, Virginia withdrew her wrist from Ivan's mouth. Her wound healed almost instantly, the assistance provided from Ivan's blood adding to her already rapid healing speed. After the first few heartbeats, Ivan's body lunged upward in an unnatural arch, only restrained by the straps she had tied him with. His eyes shot wide open, turning blood red, as the sound of creaking and cracking emanated from his mouth. Two of his teeth began to change at that moment, growing longer and culminating in sharper points. Less than five seconds after he lunged against his restraints, Ivan collapsed back to the bed, and would lie there, unconscious for three days.

During those three days, Virginia checked on her Zing almost every hour. Every four hours, she sliced one of her wrists, alternating between them to allow him to feed. A newly transformed vampire required vampiric blood until they awoke from their change, after which animal blood would suffice. Ivan had a friend in town who worked as a butcher, so they had stocked up on the blood of slaughtered animals to use for the first week. His friend also knew the truth about Virginia, and he was the only human that they told of their plans. The butcher did not ask any questions, since he had been one of Ivan's only childhood friends from before he was kidnapped, and he believed them when Ivan had told him that they would be successful.

Ivan awoke on the morning of the fourth day after their wedding. His mouth was dry, having the feeling of being stuffed with cotton. His eyes shot full open, and he sat up immediately. Virginia had been sitting in an armchair in their bedroom waiting for this moment, and rushed to him to embrace him, knowing that the change had been successful. Their embrace lasted only a few minutes, and Ivan had tears in his eyes knowing that he would be with Virginia for eternity.

End Flashback

* * *

"Well, let's start with does it hurt?" Freddy asked.

"Not really," Ivan said trying to put on a tough face, but he was interrupted by Virginia.

"Pa-lease," she said as she rolled her eyes, stretching the word into multiple syllables. "You would have screamed like a little girl when I bit you if we didn't stuff a shirt in your mouth. And then you nearly gagged on my blood."

Ivan laughed at his wife's comments. "Yeah, it hurts, Freddy," Ivan confessed, slightly ashamed to admit it, as he tried to laugh it off, "but it's all worth it. Getting bitten feels like being stung by hundreds of bees, and it paralyzes you. But at the same time, it does feel really good. When she bit me, at first it hurt, but the longer her fangs were in me, it felt better; almost as good as when we are intimate." Ivan added smiling at his lovely wife, "I don't think I ever told you that, did I?"

Virginia shook her head, "Nope, but I kind of felt the same way, almost like something was drawing the two of us even closer."

Ivan kissed his wife, glad that she had felt something when she had bit him as well. After they separated, Ivan turned back to Freddy. "It really sucks for the first few days, but then you start to feel amazing."

"How long until you start to get your powers?" Freddy asked, but was met with dirty looks from Ivan and Virginia.

"That's not the reason you do it," Virginia scolded him, which made Freddy lower his head in shame.

"I know, but it is a nice fringe benefit," Freddy answered with a slight laugh as he slowly raised his head. "I want to be with Karen forever; that's all I care about."

"I guess so," Ivan replied smiling, while wrapping his right arm around Virginia. "I started to get mine after about a week, but the coolest ones took about three months. I mean, I still can't hypnotize, but neither can Ginny. She told me that one won't come for a few decades, but the only power I really wanted was immortality. I would have passed on everything else for that. Although getting to fly with her is so awesome."

"Thanks, guys!" Freddy said, excited that he had the answers he wanted. No matter what, he was ready to go through with the process, and was ready. To be with Karen for eternity, that was all he wanted. One thing made him wonder though; if his uncle had wanted him to come to see Ivan for this, then why did he have to bring his sister to the hotel. The reason for that he hoped that he would discover soon, as he wasn't sure if she would wish to accompany him back to the hotel. But the two of them were extremely close, even though she had a secret that only her adoptive mother had known.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I wanted to write a chapter to describe how I saw the transformation process happening. This would have been similar to what Jonathan would have gone through had he not found his hidden vampiric blood. Next time, something bad happens to one of the new vampires that will bring two of them even closer in the near future.  
I have been fighting writer's block for how to conclude my other story, but hopefully that will lift soon.  
Please review and let me know what you think about the story. If you would like to be anonymous, that's fine. Also, if you don't want it to be visible to everyone and would like to send your comments by PM, I'd appreciate that also. TTFN


	32. Great Loss

**Author's Note:** 'Sup guys. Thanks for 10K views. I never thought when I started doing this that I'd have so much fun writing this. I used to hate writing in school. But enough of that, and on to the recap.  
Last time, Mavis found Ivan, the former monster hunter that worked for Gustav Van Helsing, along with his zing, Virginia. The latter being a vampire. Ivan and Virginia explained to Mavis and Freddy why they had chosen to turn Ivan. Freddy was all but convinced that he would ask Karen to turn him one day, but the biggest outcome of this was on Mavis, who wished that she would have asked Jonathan about it earlier. Enough of than, and on to the story.

* * *

Chapter 32

Shocking Loss

Back in California, Samantha was brushing her teeth when she felt something fall out of her mouth. She looked down to see one of her fangs in the sink. Samantha let out a terrified scream, the sound of which made Brett rush into the bathroom only to see her in tears. But what stunned him the most, was what he saw in the mirror.

Ever since she had been possessed by Marthta's spirit and became a vampire, Samantha had no reflection in the mirror. One couldn't even see her clothes, unlike Brett could with himself, but now her flesh was completely visible in it. Samantha pointed at the mirror and yelled, "Look!" She was weeping as she added, "I never even got to fly with you or the kids."

Brett was also fighting back his own tears. He was crushed to see how much this had hurt his wife. He wondered how one could lose vampiric powers, and knew that he would have to call Dracula to ask about it. Looking at his phone to see what time it would be in Transylvania, Brett frowned when he saw that it was still the late afternoon. Brett wrapped his right arm around Samantha, and kissed her on the cheek in an attempt to comfort her. He whispered into her ear, "We'll figure it out." He kissed her forehead before repeating himself, "I promise you that we'll figure out something."

Brett was thankful that they would be going back to Transylvania at the end of the summer to get their boys, and that would give them a chance to get more information from Dracula. He remembered that Jonathan had said that Freddy was thinking about being turned into a vampire. What he was now wondering was if he could turn Samantha, assuming she would want to; did it have to be a pure blooded vampire, or could he do it?

Brett looked again at his phone to see what time it would be at the hotel, even though only a few minutes had passed since he looked. He knew that, most likely Dracula would still be asleep, but he needed to tell him about this as soon as possible. He tentatively began to call him, while he wondered how he could possibly explain it to Dracula. As he slowly began to push the button to dial, Samantha came into their room still in tears, but she had her phone to her ear.

A ringing phone could be heard in the room of the 'Undead King'. When he opened the lid of his coffin, Dracula growled slightly. He was annoyed that someone would awaken him from his slumber, but when he saw who was calling, his expression changed. He saw a picture of Samantha on his phone, and reached for it. Accidentally, he knocked it on to the floor, at which he uttered a short string of profanities before he finally used his telekinesis to make it float to his hand. "Yes Samantha, what can I do for you?" he answered softly, but groggily.

Brett was wondering who she could be calling, but was hopeful that she had the same idea that he did. His hopes were confirmed when he heard her speak.

"Hey, Drac." Samantha said, with hope beginning to return to her voice. "I don't know if you can help me or not, but I really don't who else I can turn to."

"What is wrong?" Dracula asked, sensing that she would not have tried to call him at such an hour unless there was indeed something terribly wrong.

Samantha had wanted to call him so much, that now that she was talking to him, she didn't know how to tell him. "It's … just that … I lost …" Samantha couldn't say anything else, as she broke down into tears.

"Yes Samantha, what did you lose?" Dracula asked with a sense of dread entering him. Samantha couldn't hear him though, as she had lowered her phone.

Brett grabbed her phone away from Samantha, and turned it on speaker. "Drac, it's good to talk to you," Brett said gravely, "I just wish that it was with better circumstances. Samantha lost her fangs tonight."

Dracula was surprised to learn about this, but he knew that it wasn't unprecedented. He had heard reports of even full blooded vampires who had lost a fang, even though their powers remained with them. Normally they would regrow, although there were a few times where they didn't and drastic measures needed to be taken. "Is that all?" Dracula asked needing more information.

"No Drac," Samantha said, finally able to speak. "My reflection…" Samantha was almost bawling as she admitted it to Dracula, "I was able to see my reflection in the mirror tonight."

This is what Dracula was afraid of hearing. Simply losing a fang meant very little, but the loss of any vampiric abilities was something not to be taken lightly. "Oh Samantha," Dracula said softly felling terrible for his friend, "I promise you that we will figure out how to fix this."

"I never even got to fly with my zing," Samantha added still in tears, but she was slowly regaining control on her emotions. She knew that if Dracula said that he would help, then he would. She just hoped that there was a way for her to regain her abilities, as she enjoyed most of the powers she had gained. With Brett's help, she had learned to use her speed, and much of her strength. She still longed to be able to fly and levitate, but Dracula had told her before she left that those took the longest to manifest of all of the powers that were not advanced powers.

"Drac, could I turn her?" Brett asked directly. Jonathan had told him after the whole family found their powers that they had planned to turn Jonathan into a vampire, so he knew it was possible. Samantha looked grateful that he had asked, but she could tell that he was as nervous about it as she was.

Dracula wasn't sure. He knew that pure bloods could, but wasn't sure about hybrids. Although he was a technically 'turned' vampire, he had turned others in the past. "You could try, but I wouldn't recommend it until you two return in a few weeks. Besides, do you even know how to?"

Brett didn't, but he was glad that Dracula even thought that it was a possibility. It would be her decision, and Brett wouldn't push Samantha either way. However, he knew from what she had said ever since the two of them had reconciled after Jenna's wedding and then the spirit of Martha possessed her that she wanted to be a vampire. She longed to fly with him, and so did he. But even more importantly, she wanted to be with Brett for eternity.

After they finished talking to Dracula, Samantha and Brett cuddled on the sofa for almost three hours before finally going to sleep. Brett was trying desperately to comfort his wife, but he knew that this was just one of those things that there wasn't a good way to comfort someone. The best thing that Brett could do for his zing was to hold her tight, and rub her back and shoulders to get her to calm down. They would return to Transylvania in three weeks, and hopefully Dracula would have an idea on how they could help Samantha at that time. But Brett wondered if they should move their plans, and return sooner. Brett's job could be done via telecommute, so he could work anywhere in the world the majority of the time.

After hearing about Samantha's problem, Dracula was unable to go back to sleep. The sun would set in about another hour, and the halls were still largely deserted. However, he knew that this wouldn't be the case for much longer, so he rose and dressed to check on his family and friends who would awaken soon.

Dracula knew what the best thing to take his mind off of Samantha's problem would be, and it was something that he had yet to teach the newest vampires. Before breakfast, he left notes with Jonathan and his family inviting them all to go hunting with him that night.

Shortly after sunset, Mike went into the restaurant to get a coffee, in addition to a Blood Beater. He hadn't seen the offer Dracula had made, but Dracula was more concerned about him than any of the other newest vampires since, like Samantha, he was became a vampire by being possessed. "Good evening, my friend," Dracula said to Mike as he looked closely at his mouth.

Mike gave a small smile, and Dracula was able to see that Mike did still have his fangs. Dracula sighed with relief at the realization that whatever had happened to Sam appeared to only affect her.

"Good evening, Dracula," Mike said in a mock Eastern Europe accent as he gave a firm handshake to his friend. "You look worried about something."

The first time that he heard that accent, Dracula thought Mike was mocking him, but revealed the source of the accent; it was an old _Saturday Night_ Live sketch. He learned to laugh at it after that. But there was something much more important on Dracula's mind tonight.

Dracula was unsure if he should tell Mike about what Brett and Samantha had told him. He thought about it for a second before realizing that Mike did need to know about this just in case something similar happened to him. "Yes, Mike. It seems that Samantha has had her fangs fall out of her mouth."

"That can happen?" Mike asked, concerned that the same could happen to him.

"I have heard of it before, but it is rare. I was going to consult my library later, but I have something planned as a distraction for all of the family for tonight."

"Oh, what?"

"I haven't taken any of the newest ones hunting yet. I'm hoping that Mavis will be back by then, but if not then it will be just the five of us. Maybe more if Wilbur and Jenna feel up to it."

"What do you guys hunt for?" Mike asked slightly worried. He had never thought of what new tendencies and urges he might have gained since he was possessed by Vlad and became a vampire himself.

"Mostly small mammals, like rabbits and mice, although on occasion I'll go after larger and more dangerous game for a challenge. I do not know if Denisovich ever has gone after anything more dangerous than a stag. We have predatory instincts that must be satiated from time to time. Normally Mavis and I would go a few times a year, but since Dennis gained his powers, we have gone about once a month." Dracula smiled at the thought of having more fledglings to train to hunt.

"There's been something else I was curious about. I mean, how many vampires are there anyway?"

Dracula wasn't completely sure. He had heard reports from the Parliament of the Monster Commonwealth that the number was about 200, which was down from almost 1,000 a century prior. He told Mike this, and he gasped at the fact that more than three quarters of their kind had been killed. Dracula tried to lessen the guilt he felt, "But with the passing of Gustav and the Van Helsings, I have a feeling that our number will rise again."

"Are all vampires like you guys? I mean do they coexist with humanity, or do some still see humans as just food?"

"Mike, some do still hunt humans, but I am not sure how many. I figure it cannot be more than a dozen, though. But the bigger thing I have yet to tell you, or any of your grandchildren is they must be careful with human blood. It can be addicting. Now it is true that I am not sure how it will affect Linda or her offspring, but for you, tasting human blood can be disastrous."

Mike looked gravely at Dracula hoping he would explain what he was referring to, however Dracula simply remained smiling at him. After about a minute, Mike began to ask, "Does that mean…" but he was interrupted by the sound of the kids coming down to the lobby with Linda.

When Dracula had informed the children what the plan was for that night, all of the kids were excited to go. Samantha's father was an outdoorsman, and frequently took Troy either hunting or fishing, but nothing would compare to the kind of hunting that a vampire could do. But there was another reason why Dracula wanted to take his family hunting; it would give them a chance to practically use the skills that Dracula had been training them to use. Although it was true that none of the newest, other than Connor, had found the ability to turn into a bat as of yet, they all had found some form of their enhanced speed and strength.

Linda wasn't sure about it, as she never liked the sight of blood, and had even passed out a few times from it. Although she relented when Mike said he was going, and told her in private why he thought she should go too. Mavis had told Mike what Dracula had done at the camp the previous summer, and although a part of him understood why the ancient vampire did what he did, he would never understand why he put his only grandchild at such risk.

Mavis returned with Connor and Dennis shortly before midnight, just as her family was preparing to leave. Jonathan saw that something was on her mind, so he excused himself from the hunt even though he had yet to go, and remained behind with her. The youngest boys were both excited to join their Papa or Uncle Drac on the hunt that night, especially since it would give both of them a chance to play practical jokes on Troy. Troy had been having the most trouble mastering his new found abilities, while for Connor they came extremely easily. Dracula had explained to Troy that it was because when Connor first gained his abilities, he didn't have the time to think about what he was doing. Since his brain couldn't take the time to process what he was doing, he just let it happen, and that was the easiest way to quickly learn about one's powers. And it was yet another way how Connor and Dennis were more alike than any of his cousins.

Mavis and Jonathan remained on the roof, and watched Dracula along with the rest of Jonathan's family go hunting. They continued to watch them until the hunting party was deep in the forest, at which time they refocused their glances at each other. Jonathan had a smile on his face, much like any time he got to spend with Mavis, while Mavis looked lost in her thoughts. "So did you get to see Ivan?" Jonathan asked.

Mavis had forgotten that Freddy had told both of them that they were meeting in the village around her mother's castle. "Yeah," Mavis answered slowly, almost like she was more asking a question than making a statement.

"How's he doin'?"

Mavis wasn't sure how much about him he should share, but was grateful that Ivan and Virginia would be coming to the hotel in the next week. "He's doing good. Found his zing and everything," Mavis said smiling.

"I can't wait to see him, and I think your dad's the same way."

"He's had a little change though," Mavis added along with a slight chuckle.

"Kids?" Jonathan asked unsure about what else it could have been.

"They're expecting, but that wasn't really it. His zing's name is Virginia, and she's a vampire."

Jonathan began laughing loudly at the realization. He was pondering what this had meant; he, a descendant of one of the Van Helsings had zinged with a vampire, Ivan who worked for them zinged with a vampire, and now Freddy as well did. "So, did they do it?"

"They did on their wedding night," Mavis answered knowing what he was referring to, and it wasn't what many humans would be doing. Mavis explained the story of what Ivan's reasons were, and also why she suspected that the dream that Freddy had of his uncle encouraging him to find Ivan more than bring his sister to the hotel. Both Jonathan and Mavis knew that Karen and Freddy had seriously thought about turning Freddy, but neither of them was sure if they had made a decision.

"I still wish that you would have told me about it earlier," Jonathan said with a sad look on his face that slowly changed to guilty one as he saw Mavis's frowny face. "I meant we could have saved a lot of time, and taken a lot of the stress about Dennis off of your father from what he told me."

"What? Why would it had hurt Dennis?" Mavis asked almost at a shout, not knowing what her father had told him.

"Drac told me that as we were, the odds of having a vampire was a little more than 50/50, but if you had turned me, then it was almost 100%. Dennis would had gotten his fangs earlier, and probably wouldn't have had to fight Bela." Jonathan chuckled as he continued, "Even a young vampire could have kicked the crap out of him."

Mavis looked even guiltier about it. She had promised her father that they would have the conversation about turning him at some point, but she never did. The more that she thought about it in the time that had passed since Jonathan found his vampiric powers on his own, the more that she wished that she would have had the courage to ask him about it, and would have turned him herself. That longing only increased once she learned how close it had made Ivan and Virginia, since she had given Ivan a part of her very being so he could be with her for eternity and vice versa.

Jonathan saw the beginning of tears in Mavis's eyes and regretted what he had said. Rubbing her back, he apologized saying, "I'm such an idiot," just above a whisper.

Mavis looked up at his eyes, and shook her head. "No Johnny, you're not. I was a coward."

"But I shouldn't have brought up your dad. I'm sorry."

Mavis was still shaking her head. "I should have asked you about it earlier. I guess I just put so much faith in what Jenna had told me; that I wouldn't have to turn you. But I never realized just how close that it might have made us. Ivan's zing said that it's almost like their spirits are united, with a piece of Ivan's in Virginia, and a piece of hers in his."

Jonathan was smiling and feeling better. "We might not have then, but how bout we do something impulsive now?"

"What you got in mind, zing zing?" Mavis asked smiling, but as soon as she finished her question, he placed his left index finger to his lips, and began to caress her.

"Shh," he whispered to her, "no talking. Just let me take you to paradise."

"Oh, Johnny!" she screamed as his heavenly touch, which began the trip for both of them to absolute bliss. The two of them made love right on the roof. This was the first time they had done that since Jonathan had found his powers. However they were spotted by Ivan and Virginia, who were both arriving at the hotel as bats in acceptance of Mavis's offer of a weekend's vacation. Blushing smiles were on both of their faces, happy for the two of them, although they were embarrassed that they were almost spying on them, even though they weren't in private.


	33. The Thrill of the Hunt

**Author's Note:** Another Chapter! Last time, Samantha lost her vampiric powers after her fangs fell out of her mouth. Dracula decided to take the family hunting, and everyone went except for Jenna, Mavis, and Jonathan. The latter two made love on the roof, and not sure if anything will come from that or not (haven't completely decided if Dennis should have a little brother or sister yet). Enough of that on to the story.  
One other thing, the dream sequence in the final two paragraphs is a little graphic. You've been warned.

* * *

Chapter 33

The Thrill of the Hunt

"Pardon me, but do you have a room for two available?" Ivan asked Porridge Head, who was working behind the desk in the grand lobby of the hotel, although the only thing that the zombie was focused on was his Facebook page.

"Ugh?" The zombie groaned in reply, not sure who the vampire couple was in front of him as he looked up from the computer screen.

Jenna had stayed behind from the hunt because of her evening sickness. She had been using the bathroom every few hours the last few days, but was feeling slightly better tonight. In addition, Jenna was beginning to look 'very pregnant', and tonight was wearing a black maternity gown. She was working the lobby, filling in for her sister-in-law and Dracula, when she saw the guest at the desk becoming irate with Porridge Head.

"If I have to ask you one more time," Ivan snapped as his eyes began to change color and now were a deep crimson from the rage he was feeling from the zombie. This was the most furious that Ivan had been since he had been turned by his wife, and he didn't yet know how to control his anger. Virginia was even becoming fearful of what her husband might do, but she was thankful that at the present hour the lobby was sparsely populated with guests.

"I'm sorry, sir," Jenna said as she approached Ivan and Virginia, "but what seems to be the problem?"

"Mavis invites us for the weekend, and her incompetent staff-" but Ivan was interrupted by Virginia's scowl, as she noticed the other pregnant vampire.

"I apologize for my husband," Virginia said softly, embarrassed at the scene that Ivan had caused.

"No apologies are necessary, ma'am," Jenna said embarrassed at how unprofessional that some of the zombie staff could be. She had accepted Dracula's job offer after marrying Wilbur, and was beginning to realize that it would be much more difficult than she could have ever imagined. Jenna would have to retrain most of the staff, and would have to hire more non-zombies. "Now, how may we help you?" She asked sporting a welcoming smile.

"Mavis Dracula invited us to come for the weekend, and we are just trying to get a room," Virginia said softly, accented with a friendly smile, which matched Jenna's in its warmth.

"Just let me see what we have available," Jenna said as she levitated over the desk and began to type information into the computer, but noticed that there were only a limited number of rooms available that were not in the wing of the hotel that was under renovation and all of those were reserved for that night. Jenna frowned at the realization of this, but had an idea. "Just a minute, please," she requested from the couple standing before her.

Virginia whispered to her husband, "See what you get when you're nice to people."

Ivan shrugged, since he wondered if they would have gotten any help from this vampiress if he hadn't caused a scene.

Jenna picked up her phone, and called Wilbur who was with the hunting party. "Hey, zing zing," she greeted him when he answered.

"What's up?" Wilbur answered smiling. He loved when Jenna called him that, as she had gotten the term from Winnie.

"How's our cave comin'?" Jenna still wasn't sure about moving into a cave with Wilbur, but relented. His parents lived in one, and Dracula explained that a lot about of monsters built their homes in them.

"Slow, but coming along. Why?"

"Is it ready for us to move into?"

"Yeah, but it's still not done. I haven't had the water heater installed, but that won't matter any more. Why?" Wilbur asked again, not sure what was going on.

"The hotel is overbooked, and Mavis invited someone here for the weekend. I'm think I'm gonna give them our room, and have my stuff moved into storage until you want to move it to our place."

Wilbur growled slightly, which made the others going hunting stare at him, especially Mike. "Who'd Mavis invite this time, anyway?" He asked dismissively.

Jenna lowered the phone, as she hadn't bothered either to ask their names. "I'm sorry, but I never got your names. I'm Jenna," she said pointing at the golden name tag she worn across over her left breast, "the head desk clerk and assistant manager of the hotel. Mavis is my sister-in-law. And you are?"

Virginia face-palmed. She had been so preoccupied with lessening the scene that her husband was making and she never even thought to give her name. "I'm Virginia, and this is my husband, Ivan." Ivan gave a smile to Jenna that showed that he was still embarrassed for how he had acted earlier.

Jenna raised her phone back to her ear and told Wilbur who was at the hotel. When he heard the name 'Ivan', he howled with excitement. "I'll be back as soon as I can," Wilbur said gladly as he hung up his phone, since had been seven years since he had last seen Ivan.

"I'm sorry, but we don't have any rooms available at the moment. However, if you give me about an hour, I can clean out my stuff and you may use my former room for as long as you would like."

Virginia looked embarrassed. "We don't want to be a hassle."

Jenna shook her head, "It's no trouble. I was planning on moving out with my husband next week, anyway. We just finished work on our new home. Please, enjoy lunch in our fabulous restaurant on the house while we get your room ready," Jenna said as she was smiling.

Ivan and Virginia left the lobby to take Jenna up on her offer. By the time they had finished their meals, Jenna had returned to find them. She carried two almost ancient looking brass keys with her. "How was your meal?" She asked

"Delicious," Ivan replied. He had forgotten how much he enjoyed the company of the other monsters at the hotel, although now there were also many humans. The split was about 75 percent monsters, with the rest humans.

"I'm glad," Jenna said smiling as she set the keys on the table. "You are in room 263. I've already had our porters move your luggage into the room. If there's anything else I can do to make your stay more enjoyable, please ask."

"Do you know where Dracula is?" Ivan asked smiling. Virginia had never met the vampire legend, and he was dying to introduce her to him.

"Unfortunately, he is out with my family hunting, but they should return by dawn."

"Damn," Ivan whispered. He longed to see his friends again, but would have to wait. It just happened that he wouldn't have to wait very long for his best friend.

After speaking with Jenna, Wilbur hung up his phone, and began to turn around sprinting back the way he came. "Where do you think you're going?" Dracula snapped at the young werewolf.

"Jenna needs me back at the hotel," he answered, not wanting to ruin the hunting trip. Wilbur tried to act like he was disappointed about having to go back, but he wasn't. He hadn't seen Ivan in so long, and he really missed him.

"Okay," Dracula sighed. He had hoped that he would have more assistance from seasoned monsters to teach the new vampires to hunt, but knew that Wilbur would have been only of minor additional help compared to Winnie. He really wanted Mavis to have accompanied them, but she passed without explanation as did Jonathan.

The hunting party had entered a clearing where Dracula prepared to instruct them on how a vampire hunts. The group consisted of Dracula, Linda, Mike, Kent, Connor, Dennis, Troy, Parker, and Winnie. "First of all," Dracula said to the whole group, but focusing primarily on the children, "You are not to go after anything larger than a goat, and absolutely no predators. Understood?"

The children all nodded, but Dracula was nervous about Troy more than any of the others. He seemed to not be listening to their teacher's lesson, and Dracula worried that he might try something foolish.

"Stealth is our most valuable weapon when we hunt. The key is that the prey doesn't realize that we are stalking them until it is too late, and we have already sunk our fangs into them. All monsters that hunt have senses that assist them. For example, vampires have heightened hearing and sight, while werewolves have enhanced smell. All of us are much faster than our prey, and are stronger than most of our targets."

Winnie wasn't listening to her uncle, as she had already caught the smell of something, and prepared to chase. It didn't take her long to catch and devour her prey, a small brown rat. She still had blood on the side of her muzzle, but Dennis wiped it away, then kissed her on the forehead.

Parker was in awe of how quickly she had tracked and killed her prey. "Whoa," he exclaimed, "that's so cool!"

 _Big deal_ , Troy thought. _It was just a mouse_. He wanted to go after something bigger, and saw something about a half a mile away that would be a challenge. Troy continued to track it, ignoring what his uncle had told him.

Connor had found something, and began to stalk it. Less than a minute later, he had lunged at his prey, knocking a wild pig to the ground as his elongated fangs found a soft spot on the animal's neck. He bit down hard, almost tearing away the flesh of the animal as he drank greedily of all of the pig's blood. A minute later, the animal lay on the ground, motionless. "Delicious!" Conner yelled to an approving smile from both his grandfather and great-uncle, although Dracula did correct his technique.

"You must be more gentle on your initial bite," the experienced vampire instructed, "as you nearly tore its throat out. For a werewolf concerned more about the meat than the animal's blood, that technique is fine, but you are a vampire. Blood is what sustains us, and you mustn't waste it."

"Sorry, Uncle Drac," Connor apologized with his head hung low. He was ashamed that he had been reprimanded.

Dracula saw the look on the boy's face, and his matched it. "I didn't mean it like that," Dracula elaborated, "your stalking was perfect, but just try to be gentler when you bite." Dracula ran his fingers along through the hair of his nephew, which seemed to restore the smile on the boy's face.

Dracula flew up towards the tops of the trees and watched the party from the canopy as a bat, ready to rescue any of the newest who attempted to hunt something they weren't ready for.

About 45 minutes later, Troy caught sight of his target, a massive brown bear. _Perfect,_ he thought, _this will be a challenge, and what a rush!_ But unfortunately as can happen, the one who thought that he was the predator quickly became the prey.

Troy had thought he had cornered the bear, and he would easily be able to attack. His fangs and claws grew as he prepared to strike the animal, but a wild swing of its paw caught Troy square in the temple, opening a eight inch gash in the side of his head.

When Winnie caught the smell of vampiric blood in the air, she howled to alert the party. Dracula had heard the warning, but wouldn't be able to arrive in time to save the boy. He flew at maximum speed, but Dracula knew it would be too late.

The first to see the peril that Troy was in was Winnie, followed by Parker. Neither of them could act, since they weren't sure if they could stave off the bear. When Mike arrived, he rushed towards the animal, which was towering over his grandson standing erect on its hind legs, almost ten feet tall. Mike's eyes glowed deep crimson, as he extended his left hand, palm outstretched towards the bear. A reddish mist emanated from his palm and surrounded the animal, telekinetically freezing it as he noticed something rush past him. It was a bat, with amber eyes, fur that was redder than Connor's, almost a dark orange that was similar in shade to the tuft that was on Dennis's head as a bat. This bat raced towards Troy, and grabbed his shirt with its talons and flew Troy to a clearing where Dracula was before turning back into its vampire form revealing who it was.

"Parker?" Linda questioned as the bat changed back to its regular form.

"Yeah, Gamma?" Parker answered nervously.

"You're gorgeous," Linda said smiling to assure her grandson that she was proud of him as she rushed towards him to hug him, which made the boy smile widely.

Troy was even more jealous, since now not only had two of his brothers learned how to turn into bats, but his grandfather learned how to telepathically freeze something. He still hadn't learned to do anything other than use his bare hands to fight. He couldn't turn into a bat, or do anything other than use his speed and strength.

"Were going!" Dracula yelled loudly, almost at a roar towards Troy more than anyone else. Dracula had lifted the boy by the back of his shirt, and was furious with him. He would disciple Troy later, after they got home.  
"Uncle Drac?" he heard a boy ask, and turned to the group to notice that Parker was floating in the air towards him, which made Dracula smile. "Can we fly back?"

Dracula took a deep breath. He knew that Parker had found his ability to turn into a bat, and wondered if without having Mavis with them if it would be safe for them to fly back. But he knew that Dennis had shown himself to be an accomplished hunter at such a young age, so he suspected that he would be able to easily defend his cousins if anything else tried to attack. "As long as Dennis goes with, it's fine," Dracula stated.

"Please!" Parker pleaded with his cousin, who was holding hands with Winnie and she wouldn't let go of his hand.

"Go ahead," someone in the group whispered into Dracula's ear. He turned back as he realized who had said it. It was Mike. "I'll take care of him," Mike said pointing at the frowning boy with his arms crossed as Dracula carried him by the collar of his shirt. "Fly back with Parker, and show him some of the basics."

Dracula sighed, and set the boy down as he turned into a bat, followed by Connor and Parker doing the same. The three flew back to the hotel together, as Mike remained behind with Troy for a minute as the other resumed walking back towards the hotel to allow the two of them some privacy.

"What did Drac tell you?!" Mike snapped at his grandson.

"I know," Troy sighed. He knew why his uncle was so mad at him, and that his grandfather was also upset with him. Dracula had told all of the family to not try to hunt anything larger the hog that Connor had taken. "I just thought," but Troy was interrupted but his grandpa.

"No, Troy. You didn't think! If you did, you would have listened to what Drac said. Nothing larger than a goat, and no predators. It's shear luck that you weren't hurt, or worse."

Troy lowered his glance to the forest floor. He knew why his grandfather was being so tough on him. What he had done placed his whole family in danger, not just himself. "I'm sorry," Troy said, and sounded genuinely so. He realized why Dracula had insisted on the rules he set.

"Your Uncle Drac is the one you need to convince. Now come on, and let's catch up with the family."

Mike and Troy caught up with Linda, Winnie, Dennis, and Kent shortly before entering the cemetery. Linda still looked disappointed in Troy, but had gotten over it somewhat. She was more nervous about what Samantha would think if she ever knew how much danger that Troy had put himself in.

Mike set Troy down as he wrapped his left arm around Linda. He saw that his wife was thinking more about what Samantha would say about the danger that Troy was in than what Dracula would do to punish him for acting so foolishly. "We've already talked about it," Mike whispered to Linda. "He knows why Drac said what he did, and I think he is really sorry for it."

"I hope so, honey," Linda answered. She turned her glance to the sky, and saw Mavis and Jonathan holding each other on the roof, and still couldn't believe that she had been worried about the two of them in the past. She knew that the two of them really loved each other, and what made her even happier was that they had allowed her to accept Jacob back into not only her life, but also allowed him to enter her grandchildren's lives. She wondered why she was so worried that he would have been furious about the lineage of her husband, but after what they had learned about the young Freddy, she realized that she should have known better. _Our past doesn't define us_ , Linda thought as they crossed the bridge back to the hotel, _but rather it sets the pretext for our lives. It's up to us to decide if we wish to live up to it, exceed it, allow us to be defined by our family, or chart a completely new path._ Mavis and Jonathan had refused to be defined by the fact that Dracula and Vlad were against the commingling of humans and monsters at first, but eventually they learned to love Jonathan and Dennis.

Wilbur arrived at the hotel shortly after 2:30, or about twenty minutes after Jenna had called him. He was dying to see Ivan again, and remembered what Mavis had said about him. He had found his zing. What she didn't share about the former hunter was that his zing was a vampire, and he himself was now one as well.

When he returned to the hotel, he saw Jenna still working the lobby. In any other hotel in the world, seeing a full staff on hand during what the human world would consider a 'graveyard' shift might seem bizarre, but then again this was no ordinary hotel. Wilbur rushed to his wife, and swept her off of her feet. He swung her around wildly in his arms before he stopped and planted a loving kiss on her lips, which made both of them smile as their lips parted.

"What's gotten into you?" Jenna asked her zing.

"Nothing, just that I found out that one of my oldest human friends is here," Wilbur replied with an even wider smile on his face.

"Who's that?"

"That new guy that you said checked in; Ivan."

Jenna shook her head, "There must be some mistake. The Ivan who checked in to our old room isn't human."

Wilbur grimaced at the fact that his friend was not here. Something made him want to meet this 'other' Ivan, so Wilbur took leave to go and introduce himself to him. Slowly making his way up the stairs, Wilbur wondered why a familiar scent was in the air. His nose had to be playing a trick on him, as he could make out the scent of his friend, although it had changed slightly.

Wilbur 'hemmed and hawed' for a few moments before the door finally opened before he found the courage to knock on it himself. Standing before him in the hall was his friend, the former monster hunter. The two shared an embrace, and that's when Wilbur realized why Jenna had said that Ivan wasn't human. He saw Virginia pacing on the ceiling and he recognized that Ivan had fangs in his mouth. Virginia must of turned Ivan into a vampire so the two of them could be together forever. It was a discussion that Mavis and Jonathan had before, and one that he and Jenna might have needed to have at some point. While werewolves aren't immortal like vampires, the average lifespan for one is almost 600 years.

Jenna joined the three of them shortly after 4:00, and was told the entire story, including that Ivan was turned into a vampire. Jenna shared that her entire family, including Jonathan had vampire blood in their family's very distant past, and somehow it had awoken in all of them; even their father and sister-in-law. The gathering continued through dinner, and didn't break up until long after daybreak.

That morning, Karen was awoken by a dream in her home. She had decided to return after Freddy had left for his journey to begin to get her affairs in order for the two of them to move in together as soon as he was ready for that commitment.

Normally vampires slept like the dead, and dreams were incredibly rare. But when one did dream, it often was a serious matter. Karen saw a young lady talking to Freddy who looked a lot like Martha, but looked even younger than Mavis. She was unable to hear exactly what was being said, but it wasn't that that concerned her. After a few minutes, she saw her zing collapse onto the ground, his neck nearly severed from its body with blood gushing from the wound. But what concerned her the most, was who she saw standing over the body. It was Martha's father, and his left hand and arm was covered in the blood of the boy. He appeared to be laughing at the damage to the mortal's body he had caused with just a simple swipe of his arm, before he caught sight of the look on Martha's face.

It looked as if Martha had no eyes; only a jet black void in the place her beautiful blue eyes would have been. She lunged at her own father, and quickly struck him down. Her eyes returned to their normal color, and began to fill with tears as she began to cradle the boy's body. But it was too late. Freddy was dead, and Martha cried for the loss of him.


	34. When a Vampire Dreams

**Authors Note:** Good news. The writer's block I had been fighting with finale to the prequel of this story has finally lifted. I have an idea for the chapter, and hopefully it will be ready in a week or so.

* * *

Chapter 34

When a Vampire Dreams

Karen woke from her dream in an icy sweat, to a loud, terrified scream. She sat straight up, and began to ponder what her dream had to mean. Two pieces of it made no sense. First, Martha was dead. She didn't remember at that moment what Griffin had told her and Mavis; that a vampire never really dies when killed by a human. But of a larger concern to Karen was that it was Martha's father who killed Freddy, and was then killed by Martha. This was impossible because Martha's father was also dead; he was executed more than 300 years ago as he attempted to restore the Supremacists to their majority in the Parliament. His coup d'état had failed, and he had been sentenced to death for his treason. That was shortly after Dracula had become the chief executioner for the Parliament's new Separatist majority. Karen was unsure if the Parliament would have ordered Dracula to execute Michele Lubov since he recently obtained that role, but she was certain of one thing; they would have certainly had him executed. The Parliament could not have allowed someone who attempted that kind of maneuver to live, even a former Prime Minister of the Parliament like Michele had been.

The more Karen thought about her dream the less sense it made to her. She tried to call Freddy to warn him about it, but she was unable to reach him. Every time she called his cellphone, it would go straight to voicemail. This meant only one of two possibilities; either he had no signal, or the phone was off. She hoped for the former, but feared the later. Either way she left several messages hoping that at least one of them would reach him. Then she attempted to reach Dracula. There was no answer from his cellphone either, but Dracula rarely would answer it anyway with the exception of a call from Mavis. She was relieved when she dialed the hotel, and heard a familiar voice answer.

"Thank you for calling the Hotel Transylvania, this is Jenna speaking. How may I help you?" The voice on the other end of the line answered.

A relieved sigh was heard over the telephone line, as Karen said, "Thank the stars, Jenna! It's you."

"Karen," Jenna asked, hearing the panic that was in her voice despite the fact that it was slightly calmer now, "what's wrong?"

"I've gotta talk to Drac. It's urgent!" Karen pleaded with Jenna.

"I think he's asleep, but let me try and wake him," Jenna offered to which Karen was relieved. Jenna knew that Karen wouldn't have said that it was something urgent or an emergency unless it really was. "Can we reach you at this number?"

"Yes, but please hurry."

"I will Karen. Just please, try to relax." Jenna hung up the phone, and left in a flash for the manager's suite. There was no answer when she knocked, and was relieved that the shrunken head said he hadn't yet returned to his room. She found one of the armors and asked it if they knew where Dracula was. To her relief, they did.

"Yes, ma'am, he is in the library!" The armor replied in a military tone and volume.

"Thank you, sergeant," Jenna answered. She had learned how to differentiate their ranks, and tried to address them by rank.

Jenna rushed to the library, and saw Dracula rapidly searching though the stacks. After a few moments, he returned to a reading table along with more than a dozen books, all of them about vampires and dhampirs.

"Drac," Jenna whispered to her in-law and employer, at which he looked up at her. "Karen called for you earlier, and she said it was an emergency. She needs to talk to you right away."

"My research here is extremely important," Dracula informed Jenna with complete seriousness in his voice, while not revealing what exactly he was studying. He was trying to discover a possible course of action for Samantha, as Brett had texted him earlier in the night that the two of them may come back to Transylvania sooner than originally planned. "Do you know what she needs?"

Jenna frowned since Karen didn't share what she was so worried about to try and reach Dracula after daybreak as she shook her head and told him, "No, but she almost sounds panicked about whatever it is."

Dracula had a grave expression on his face. He knew Karen, and she was a lot like Jonathan; she rarely let anything bother her. To elicit this type of reaction from her it had to be serious, whatever it was. "I will call her immediately," he promised as he left in a flash to his room. He desired privacy, worried about what for Karen had needed his council.

"What is your situation, Karen?" Dracula inquired the second he heard the phone touch Karen's ear.

"Drac, I don't know what it means, but I had the strangest dream just now," she began to tell him what she had seen. Dracula's expression became even more concerned. The 'King of Vampires' knew that a vampire didn't dream often, but when one did, it often foreshadowed events. There was a high probability of what she had dreamed occurring. Karen told most of the details of her dream to Dracula, and by the end he was even more concerned about what she had saw, even though Karen had not mentioned the detail of Martha or her father being in it.

Dracula also was sweating ice water. He was adamant in his advice, "You must warn Freddy immediately!" The ancient vampire explained the rationale; that it was probable that the events she envisioned could occur.

"I've tried, but I can't reach him," Karen pleaded with Dracula. "I don't know if his phone is dead, or it's something else. I don't know where he went or what to do!"

Dracula remembered where Freddy said he was going. He was returning to his old home to hopefully bring his adoptive sister to the hotel. Luckily, Freddy had told Dracula where his former home was, but the former hunter had also told Dracula that the dream of his uncle had insisted that this was a quest he needed to engage in by himself. _But surely now_ , Dracula thought, _the situation has changed._ Dracula continued to think, and realized that they needed to warn Freddy of the potential danger that he was in.

"Karen, you need to continue to try and reach him, but if you cannot, then come here at sunset. I know where he has gone, and we will go warn him in person."

Karen was able to let out a relieved sigh for the assistance promised by Dracula. "Thanks, Drac," she said finally able to calm down.

Karen tried consistently for the next hour to contact Freddy, but to no avail. She decided at noon, after more than three additional hours of trying to reach her zing, to pause her attempts. She needed to rest if she was going to fly to Bucharest that night. This time during her sleep, she had a slightly different dream.

She still saw Freddy and Martha, but this time Dracula was there, along with Mike and herself. Martha's father was still there, but this time when he tried to strike down Freddy, he failed. Michele was still able to injure the human severely, but she did not witness him perish. On the other hand, she did notice the eyes of Mike and Dracula; they were deep crimson from the smell of fresh human blood in the air. Karen knew that fresh human blood would only elicit this reaction from a vampire who had tasted human blood before. Dracula attempted to hold back Mike, but ultimately failed. Mike bit Freddy and clutched at the right side of his neck for almost thirty seconds before Dracula was finally able to restrain Mike. However Mike's actions did not kill Freddy, but rather the human lunged upward as his body contorted in unnatural positions, and even emitted a brief roar before he collapsed.

Karen still saw Martha kill her father, but this time she saw exactly how she did it. It was the same way that Linda had slain Gustav; Martha reached deep into Michele's chest and pulled out his still beating heart.

Karen awoke from this dream just as the sun had begun to set. This new dream had given her a small amount of hope, but at the same time she knew that under no circumstances could Mike be allowed to accompany them to Bucharest. She thought for a minute, realizing that it wouldn't matter since other than Connor, none of his family had found the ability to turn into bats, and they would most certainly have to fly to reach Freddy in time to warn him about the danger that might be waiting for him. She didn't know that Mike had learned how to freeze things. That's when she realized something about her new dream that she didn't think about at first. The setting had changed; no longer was Freddy injured at a strange place she didn't recognize, but now the site was clear. Freddy had been wounded at the hotel.

Karen left her home shortly after sunset, and made haste to the hotel. This was the fastest she had ever flown before, and it only took her a little over an hour to reach it. She quickly entered the lobby, seeing Dracula and Jenna discussing something about the hotel for that night. Dracula's eyes looked bloodshot, and she assumed that he didn't sleep at all that day. Karen didn't know that Dracula had been reading all day about another problem completely unrelated to hers.

Jenna noticed Karen first, and she began to walk towards her. When Jenna started walking across the lobby, Dracula noticed the new arrival as well. He sprinted over towards her, hoping to be able to reach her first, but he would have no such luck. Mavis reached her first.

"Aunt Karen!" Mavis screamed excitedly when she reached and embraced her. "Have you come for a visit?"  
Karen frowned. She was unsure if she should tell Mavis about her problem or not, but luckily Dracula had reached her before Mavis finished asking.

"No, Mavy," Dracula answered for Karen as he frowned. "There is something we must to take care of tonight, but should be back before daybreak." Dracula knew it would take them about an hour to fly to Bucharest, and hoped that finding and warning Freddy wouldn't take long.

"Okay, dad," Mavis replied with a saddened look. She hadn't seen her aunt in almost three weeks, and was hoping to get to spend some time asking about her mother. Her sadness from the loss of her mother after the announcement of Jenna's pregnancy had passed, and was becoming more and more curious about her mother for some reason.

"Mavis, why don't you hang out with me tonight?" Jenna offered smiling. Griffin had told Jenna about the feelings Mavis fought after she and Wilbur had announced that they were expecting and it made her feel bad. "I had an obstetrician appointment yesterday, and Wanda is coming over to talk to me about it."

Mavis smiled in gratitude for the offer. Jonathan and Dennis were going to spend time that night with Connor and Parker. She assumed that they would be flying most of the evening, and Mavis wanted to let them all bond somewhat. Jonathan had asked Mavis to help them teach Parker, but she passed; it seemed like something family should do together. "Sounds like fun," Mavis said accepting Jenna's offer.

The two older vampires left the hotel not long after that. First they hunted quickly. Dracula didn't get the opportunity the previous night to have real blood, and he knew to fly as quickly as he would need to, he had to feed on real blood. Also, if her dream was accurate, and would happen that night Dracula would need to have his hunger satiated before Freddy or any other humans would be injured or his hunger could overpower him.

Karen reluctantly agreed to Dracula's plan. She didn't hunt much anymore, as she found the taste of real blood repulsive. Both of them quickly found wild hogs, and drank greedily of their blood. Feeling satisfied, the two quickly transformed into their bat forms, and headed southwest towards Bucharest.

Mavis and Jenna went into the restaurant to wait for Wanda. But before Wanda arrived, Mavis had to use the restroom, and began to get sick. After a few minutes, she felt slightly better and noticed Wanda and Jenna sitting together making small talk.

"Oh, my," Wanda gasped, looking concerned because of Mavis's appearance, "honey you don't look so well."

Mavis looked even paler than normal. "I'm fine, must have been some bad scream cheese or something," Mavis hoped that it was nothing more than that, but wondered about it. She had woken up three times while she slept the previous day, and even Jonathan noticed it the third time. Jonathan was always a deep sleeper, even as a human, but since he found his vampire powers he became an even deeper one. Each time Mavis woke, she was craving snacks.

"I hope so, dear," Wanda said rubbing Mavis's back, but felt something different than usual in her. Wanda began to suspect that Mavis might be pregnant herself again. Wanda turned her attention to her daughter-in-law. "So, how'd your doctor's appointment go?"

"Fine, I guess," Jenna answered with a small amount of confusion in her voice, "but there was something weird. I mean, the ultrasound showed only one baby, but the doctor thought that I was like four or five months pregnant. That's not possible, since I think it happened after the wedding; like six weeks ago, tops."

Wanda shrugged. "I don't know, sweetie. I mean, I'm pregnant for about 12 weeks, so it is possible that you will be pregnant shorter than a human or vampire will be."

"Mavis, how long were you pregnant with Dennis for?"

Unfortunately, Mavis wasn't paying attention as her stomach was growling again. "Huh?" She replied to Jenna's inquiry.

"How long were you preggo with Dennis?" Jenna repeated herself.

"Oh, that!" Mavis answered with an embarrassed chuckle because of her wandering mind. "I think like forty weeks, but my dad could tell you better than I could."

"I wish I would have gotten a chance to ask him, but I forgot. Figured that Wanda could answer my questions, but I should have known better," Jenna said chuckling. "Drac said that hybrids are funky with 'gestation periods'," with Jenna accenting the last two words with air quotes.

Wanda rubbed Jenna's right shoulder blade with her left paw, smiling at her. "I'd be ready for him to come out any time after 12 weeks, sweetie."

"Yeah, well," Jenna hemmed and hawed for a few seconds before adding, "we don't know if it's a boy or girl yet."

"You don't!" The two women exclaimed almost in unison.

"I want to be surprised, and Wilbur doesn't really care either way. Or at least that's what he said."

"But what about getting a nursery ready?" Wanda asked worried if they had thought about any of the details about having a child yet.

"Well, we're moving into a cave. Paint doesn't go on rock very well," Jenna replied laughing.

"Sounds like my Wilby," Wanda replied also laughing. "He's so lazy, good luck getting him to do anything. Wayne used to joke that if not for William, that he was so lazy they would have had to induce labor to get him out." All the ladies laughed at the joke.

"I know, we'll just deal with it. My dad said that he was kind of the same way until Brett was born, then he realized that he had to grow up, and quick."

Wanda was chuckling again, "Wayne was the same way with our first litter. Like father, like son."

"I guess one can hope," Mavis replied also chuckling.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Next time we meet Freddy's sister, Margaret (AKA Maggie)


	35. The Key to a New Era

Author's note: Hey guys, I know it's been a while, but I've been busy. Last time, Dracula explained that Karen's dream might very well be a premonition, as vampire dreams are extremely rare. The two of them left to warn Freddy about it. After Karen and Dracula left, Mavis and Jenna talked to Wanda about Jenna's pregnancy, which was progressing much quicker than a vampire's or human's would be. But while they were waiting for Wanda to arrive, Mavis began to get sick again. My goal through the spring and summer is to have one or two new chapters a month posted. Also, please let me know if you like the direction I have taken the story. Reviews are appreciated

 **New OC's** : Margaret Van Helsing is the adoptive sister of Freddy. She looks to be in her late teens, similar to the age Mavis looked in the first film, with bright blue eyes, and wavy dark brown hair. She has pale skin, and wears pastel colors. She stands 5'6", and is thin. Her voice is provided by Madison Kay Marlow (1/2 of the duo Maddie and Tae)

Michele is a vampire, one of those who still hunts humans and believes in the supremacy of monster kind. He is the same age as Vlad, but looks significantly younger because he still consumes human blood. His hair is jet black, and long while his eyes are blood red and lack pupils from all of the souls he has consumed. Jeremy Irons provides his voice.

Nikola is the last of the man-bats who was turned by Vlad. Previously he served as Bela's second in command, but now serves Michele. Nikola is completely loyal to his new master, and has ruthlessly served him since Gustav was vanquished. He is voiced by Michael Rispoli.

* * *

Chapter 35

The Key to a New Era

It had taken an extra day, but Freddy finally arrived at his old home in Bucharest. It had been slightly less than six weeks since he had last seen it, but the exterior of the castle didn't change at all. He lived in an old, medieval castle that had, at one point been the home of some noble Romanian although he was unsure of exactly which one. His great-grandfather had bought the castle more than a century prior to serve as a base in his family's quest. Now of course, that quest had ended. Monsters and humans were no longer enemies which pleased Freddy immensely.

As his hearse drove towards the entrance, he finally noticed something different. There were now rows of flowers planted along the driveway as one approached the home. His grandfather was the ultimate utilitarian; he never would have taken the time to, or more importantly, wasted the money on such landscaping. Shoot, simply having the lawn maintained was a struggle for Gustav.

After staring at the architecture of the castle for about ten minutes, Freddy finally found the courage to enter. Upon entering, he saw his adoptive sister dusting the bannister of the grand spiral staircase that one encountered immediately upon entering.

"Maggie!" Freddy shouted, as he was extremely happy to see his sister again. He had feared that when he fell in love with Karen, he'd never be able to see any of his old friends and family again. But not only had he found Ivan, whom was one of his best friends growing up, and now he was able to see his sister again.

"Freddy!" Margaret yelled happily in answer to her brother's return. "We thought that you'd been killed!"

Freddy could only laugh at his sister's assumption. He was in less danger with Dracula and his new friends than he would have been in if his grandfather was still alive. "Nope, just fine. Better than that actually," he said with a chuckle.

The two shared an embrace, and for the first time, Freddy noticed something about Margaret that he never did before. She had no reflection in the window on the other side of the room, but he could clearly make out his own face in the same pane of glass. _Naw, gotta be just a coincidence_ , he thought as he remembered that Dracula, Mavis, and Karen were all the same way. But there was something else he noticed now that they separated; her mouth. He could see two teeth different from the rest of hers. In fact she had two fangs that looked exactly like Mavis's. This only served to make Freddy even more confused. _How could grandpa have trained a vampire in hunting monsters_? He thought. It was completely impossible, not to mention impractical. His grandpa hated all monsters; didn't he?

Margaret noticed the concerned look on her brother's face and asked him, "What's wrong Freddy?"

Her voice was as soft and kind as he had remembered it, which made Freddy smile. He wasn't sure how to answer. Should he just ask about his suspicions, or would it be better to lie about it? _No,_ he thought, _honesty is always the best policy!_ "I missed you," Freddy said as he hugged his sister again, which made her smile even wider. This was the point of their second embrace. He was certain of it now; his adoptive sister was definitely a vampire.

"That's what uncle must have meant," Freddy gasped slightly above a whisper. He hoped that Margaret didn't hear him, but she pulled away from him when she heard it.

"What uncle?" She asked terrified about where he had been the last several weeks.

"Great-uncle Frederick," he answered directly. "I had a dream and he said that there was somewhere I had to take you. That you belong there," Ivan added excitedly. He thought that with Margaret being a vampire that she would enjoy being in the company of all of the super friendly monsters at the hotel.

"Why?" Margaret was almost in a panic, as she worried why her brother would be so adamant about her needing to go anywhere.

Freddy shrugged as he continued smiling at his sister. She was somewhat surprised that he showed no fear towards her, as their adoptive mother had told her in the past that he might if he ever learned the truth about her. "Because I know exactly what you are, Maggie," Freddy said softly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Margaret tried to lie to him. She had sworn to her mother to always hide her secret from Freddy. Gustav had discovered the truth about her, and eventually saw it as a possible advantage.

"Maggie, just tell me the truth. Please?" He pleaded with her.

Margaret was in tears. She couldn't say it. All she could do was cry on the shoulder of her brother.

Freddy stroked her shoulder length dark brown hair, as he held her close. Then, whispering in her ear, "I know that you're a vampire," followed by a kiss on her forehead while he continue to rub her back.

"No, I'm not!" She protested vehemently as she pulled away from his touch, snarling at him. However she had inadvertently shown him her fangs in the process.

"Please, Maggie. I've got so much to tell you about the last few weeks, but I need you to tell me the truth first." By now, Freddy was begging, "Please."

Margaret couldn't speak. She had sworn to her adoptive mother to never tell him that secret, but now it appeared that he knew. _Could it really hurt to tell him_? She thought. It was another minute or so before Margaret was finally able to nod her head.

To her surprise, Freddy didn't cower in fear, rather he smiled and hugged her again. He smiled as he told her softly, "I still love you, Maggie."

Margaret had an even wider smile on her face. She wondered why their mom wanted her to hide this when her brother had been so accepting of her.

"I've got to show you this," Freddy said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. To his surprise, it wouldn't turn on because the battery was dead. Freddy went to his old room with Margaret and plugged the phone in to charge. He knew that it would take his phone at least twenty minutes to charge enough to be able to turn on. He just sat on his bed with his sister making small talk until then, or so he thought he would.

After about five minutes of idle conversation, Freddy noticed Margaret was still in tears. She was still surprised at Freddy's reaction, as he was as accepting of her as when she first moved in with them even though she hid a huge secret from him. "Why?" She simply asked.

Freddy smiled widely. _Could I really tell her without showing her a picture?_ He thought to himself, but quickly realized the answer. His sister would believe him no matter what he told her. "Maggie, I found the love of my life, and…" he paused trying to think of how to say it best. It took about a minute, but he finally did. "And she's just as special as you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Margaret snapped at him.

"She's just like you… well maybe a little older," he said with a chuckle before adding, "but a vampire anyway."

Margaret could only gasp. She knew why Gustav became nicer to her after he learned the truth since he saw her as a weapon that he could turn against other monsters. However she couldn't help but smile at her brother for always being so nice to her, and this was no exception. After another minute she finally asked, "So, what's her name?"

Freddy's smile matched Margaret's. "Karen!" He exclaimed. Freddy turned his glance to his phone and noticed that it had powered up. Reaching for it, he opened a selfie of the two of them embracing each other. At first Margaret smiled, but then she started thinking of the vampiress in the picture.

The more Margaret thought about Karen's image, the more certain that she was that she recognized her from somewhere. "I've seen her before, but where," she whispered. Freddy heard his sister mumble, but couldn't decipher what she had said. She looked at Freddy, who now looked worried for his sister. Trying to calm him she asked, "So tell me about her."

Freddy smiled again as he thought about his zing. "Well, she's a great artist. She lost her best friend about a century ago when some humans killed her, but luckily her niece was able to escape with her dad." Mavis had told Freddy the truth. It wasn't just 'some humans' that killed Martha, but his own blood; his great-great-uncle. "Mavis and Johnny are such a cute couple, and their son, Dennis, is really nice too."

The wheels were turning even more in Margaret's head. She knew the name Mavis from somewhere, but wasn't sure where. Unfortunately, Freddy didn't have any pictures of Mavis or her family, but he assured her that Mavis and her family would be excited to meet her.

"So when do we leave?" Margaret asked. She realized that this fight between humans and monsters had ended long ago, as Freddy told her the story that Dracula had told him of not only his wife, but also of the encounters with his Uncle Frederick and Jonathan in the past.

"Whenever you're ready," Freddy said as he wrapped his right arm around his sister.

"Then let's go!" She declared proudly, and they prepared to leave. The two of them left shortly thereafter, but not before Freddy saw he had several messaged from Karen. He tried to call her back, but received no answer. He figured that he would see her in a few hours back at the hotel, so the two of them left quickly.

* * *

At a tavern in a hamlet just outside of Bucharest, two strange people were talking. One was the last of the monster bats that had previously served Vlad, but switched his allegiance to Gustav after the former's change of heart regarding humans. He was the last of his kind, and craved revenge on those who had slaughtered his allies.

The other looked human, but to assume such would be a mortal mistake for anyone, human or monster. He stood just shy of seven feet tall, built solidly and extremely strong, although he rarely would soil his hands with settling scores. When one was a physical specimen such as he was, actually fighting was rarely necessary.

"So what's our plan?" The man-bat asked quietly. They were in the back corner of a human tavern, which had opened to monsters several years ago. It infuriated the bat to have to meet alongside humans, but his new master had arranged the meeting.

"We must stop them," the other said coldly. His voice conveyed nothing, absolutely no emotion. "If she discovers who she truly is, that's the end."

"Who?" The bat asked his master.

"The adopted daughter of your last boss Nikola, although I still don't know why you lowered yourself to serving a human." The master making sure to show his disgust in the word 'human'.

"Who is she, anyway?"

"You needn't concern yourself with that. Your job is to lead the army I give you, and destroy those who would stand against us." He knew what he needed to do, as the one he needed to eliminate could very well be the reincarnation of his own daughter. The girl currently known as Margaret Van Helsing, but might have possessed the spirit of the vampire who first saw the possibility of humans and monsters being equals and friends.

Michele knew that it required three triggers to restore the reincarnated's memories to the new version. He was unsure of how many triggers she might have encountered already, but was certain that no chances could be allowed. Margaret and Freddy could not be allowed to reach the hotel. Michele realized that it would be much simpler to kill Freddy than Margaret, so that would be their plan. Without him, she would be unable to even search for the hotel.

The two finished their meal in silence. Until recently, a man-sized bat would never have been allowed in such an establishment, but the events of the previous few years had changed all of that. There were even rumblings that the government of the Monster Commonwealth may be invited to join the United Nations.

* * *

The previous elections of delegates to the Parliament had not been with controversy. There were numerous reports of Separatists who voted multiple times, but even with the suspected election fraud the slight majority that they held in the previous session had been eliminated as now they barely held a plurality. For the first time in more than a century, a coalition government had to be formed and rather than join forces with some of the more cautious Integrationists, the Separatists choose to form their coalition with the Supremacists. The leader of the opposition party, the gorgon Methusa, realized the immense power they now held. There were very few items that the Separatist government could enact just by whipping the votes from their coalition, since it was rare that the two parties in the coalition would agree on major issues. Dracula had been urged to run for a seat, but declined. He simply wished to run his hotel, using it as the base for the integration of the two societies and races. In an odd way, this made him more important than even the Prime Minister, Sesshomaru, who assumed the post following the most recent election as the prior PM was term limited. Dracula routinely gave press conferences about interracial issues affecting humans and monsters, and became a defacto spokesperson for the cause.

Sesshomaru realized that he would most likely be a one-term PM, especially since several Votes of No Confidence had been attempted in the first three years of the term, which normally lasted seven. He had made a commitment to beginning the process of integration, and the results of the past few years had proven to him that it was the right decision. There were more than a hundred monsters who had zinged with humans, and many half-breeds were being born. Some of the inter-kind unions did result in the human being turned into a monster, if the monster was able to transform humans, but many did not as the shorter life-spanned monsters had little reason to change their zings. But more importantly, he realized that the next election would, most likely be a bell-weather. He sensed the end of the Separatists as the party in power, and a new era would be beginning soon. He hoped Dracula would lead that era, but the vampire had no interest in this at the moment.

The reason for this visit to the hotel was that Sesshomaru had heard a rumor of a new clan of vampires. His first thought was that a hunter, that being a monster that still fed on humans, had gone on a binge and accidentally or intentionally turned several humans. But he had heard gossip that a family of dhampirs had all found their abilities at roughly the same time, and he hoped that this was the case.

In addition, his visit would give the PM the chance to seek council from Dracula about what would be the best way to continue the cause. Sesshomaru had to be discreet, since technically he was a member of the Separatists, but he was certain that the separation of the races was not the correct course of action for eternity. He realized that the time had come, and a new leader would emerge to champion the cause of integration and unification. Sesshomaru thought that it would be either Dracula or Mavis. Little would he know that it wouldn't be either of them, but rather a vampire he wasn't sure existed at the present time.


	36. Return of the Queen

**Author's Note:** I thought that it might be a good idea to refresh the memory of some and inform the others who have not read my story 'The Ties That Bind'. The monster community is governed by a worldwide parliament which, during that story, authorized limited integration of monsters and humans. After that they began to set rules and assign venues for this to happen. The two primary monsters involved with this are the new prime minister, Sesshomaru, and the leader of the opposition, Methusa.

Sesshomaru is from the manga and anime series _Inuyasha_ , the full demon (monster) brother of the titular character. After that story, he zinged with Rin and they had two half-demon daughters. For the last century and a half he has been a member of the parliament, rising through the Separatist ranks, reaching the post of prime minister after the last election even though he had warmed to the cause of integration.

Methusa is the only daughter of Medusa. Cursed like her mother, she has snake filled hair but unlike her mom she is able to control her power and even reverse it. She is the leader of the Inegrationist movement, and covertly began long ago a link to artists in the human world to change the perception of monsterkind. Many works of fiction from movies and television to books were the product of this program, even if some took a large amount of dramatic license. (see Dracula's feelings on _Twilight_ as one example). Dracula's favorite character under this program is Count van Count from Sesame Street.

* * *

Chapter 36

The Return of the Queen

Sesshomaru had entered the grand lobby of the hotel even more casually than normal. He still enjoyed wearing flowing robes from his youth, but since the last 'No Confidence' vote his gait had become more relaxed, much like he had in the last few months. He no longer cared to be a leader; now only wishing to serve a cause that he had become a champion for.

Sesshomaru stepped to the ancient looking desk, in awe of the recent changes to the hotel. Electronics were displayed prominently throughout the lobby, and televisions were broadcasting monster and human programs. The clerk he stepped up to was Clifton.

"Ugh," the technological expert greeted to the leader of his kind.

Sesshomaru smiled warmly in reply. "Hello Clifton. Where is Dracula?" His voice was as regal as always with him speaking using flawless enunciation.

Across the lobby after just finishing her lunch with Mavis and Wanda, Jenna had returned to her duties in the hotel. She had heard someone ask for her employer at the desk and figured that the zombie staff had upset a new guest again. She raced across the lobby at her full vampiric speed and stopped a few feet from the face of Sesshomaru before she angrily stared at Clifton. "What'd you do now?" She asked him sounding more irritated than angry.

"Un-un!" Clifton could only grunt in reply as he shook his head.

"Nothing is wrong, my good lady," Sesshomaru interjected on the zombie's behalf. He reached for her hand and kissed it like the nobleman he was, noticing the name tag she wore. "My name is Lord Sesshomaru, and I would like your presidential suite. I just always ask for Dracula when I arrive since he likes to take care of me personally."

Jenna smiled, exposing her fangs which elicited a smile from Sesshomaru in reply. "My name's Jenna, and uh… I guess I'm in charge now, since Drac left on important business for a few hours."

Sesshomaru subtlety sniffed at the hand of Jenna as he kissed it. "Newborn vampire," he whispered, commenting at the scent. He wondered how Dracula would have found this fledgling on his own, unless of course he was the hunter who lost control. But this was not likely, since Dracula had not hunted humans in more than a century. In addition, Dracula had not shown any urges to harm Jonathan, even taking great care when Jonathan was willing to sacrifice himself to save Dracula's life. Sesshomaru reached into his pocket and produced a business card identifying him as a delegate of the parliament.

Jenna inspected the card for a moment before Mavis returned to the lobby. She flushed at the sight of Sesshomaru talking to Jenna, and quickly rushed to them as a mist. "My lord," Mavis greeted him as she curtsied. "Allow me to introduce you to my sister-in-law, Jenna."

"Oh," Sesshomaru gasped as he realized exactly who this girl was, "So Jonathan's sister then?"

"Yep," Jenna answered with a smile and a nod.

Mavis noticed the look on Sesshomaru's face, and was slightly nervous. "So what brings you to our humble inn?"

A chuckle came from the Prime Minister. "Just a random inspection on the interaction of humans and monsters. And there is something that I need to talk to you father about."

"Well, maybe we can help you with some of it," Jenna suggested still smiling as she proceeded to prepare the suite for their guest.

"If you wish," Sesshomaru responded casually. "It seems that there has been reports of a brood of new vampires, and it needs to be investigated."

"What's that mean? I mean what's a 'brood'?" Jenna asked sounding worried.

"Families of vampires have different names around the world," Mavis answered to her sister-in-law. "Brood, coven, pack; I've heard them all."

"Oh!" Jenna blushed.

"I assume that a hunter has lost control, and it will be up to Dracula to track him, since he's now the king of vampires with your grandfather's passing," he said to the girls with the final part directed at Mavis.

"How long have they been around?" Mavis asked wondering if she knew who they were.

"The first reports I saw of them was in mid June."

"Mavis, could they be talking about my family?" Jenna asked. Dennis's birthday was when most of her family found their power, so that would fit his timeline.

"Your whole family? Children too?" Sesshomaru asked worried how the entire family would have become vampires at roughly the same time.

"Pretty much. I mean, Johnny and I were turned about three months before, but I think we're all vampires now."

"Who bit them!?" Sesshomaru demanded to Mavis. His eyes were no longer friendly, but glowed red with a burning rage.

"No one," answered Mavis terrified of what Sesshomaru might do, since legends surrounding his temper and wrath were almost infamous as her father's.

"Yeah," Jenna confirmed, her voice trembling slightly. "We've all got some vampire in us anyway."

"Oh," Sesshomaru retracted embarrassed from his overreaction. He had assumed they were turned vampires, not awoken ones. "My apologies, it's just been a long journey from Japan."

"Wait, so why would it matter if children were turned?" Jenna asked. She remembered back to one of the _Twilight_ books and how when the vampire royalty thought that Bella's child was a turned vampire, they desired to destroy her before she could become uncontrollable. "Is it like _Twilight_?"

"That is one of the few truths about vampires that those books got correct, even if only slightly. A bitten child requires much more supervision and guidance. If they fail to receive it, the consequences could be disastrous."

Jenna blanched at his remarks. "Disastrous how?"

Sesshomaru considered lying to them, but felt that they should know the truth. "There have been times when a child vampire has been unable to control their hunger or anger and slain entire villages."

"Oh my god!" Jenna gasped as she almost felt sick. She never thought that the reason for her nephews remain behind was more for the safety of their friends back home than their own. She made peace with that and the PM left them.

Sesshomaru left the ladies and retired to his room, relieved that indeed the new vampires were awoken ones. This meant that they didn't need to find the few hunters still left, possibly having to discipline them. He knew that this was the biggest danger to integration; monsters and humans falling in love, and the parliament had placed regulations on humans being turned into monsters for the sole reason of a zing, but other than Jonathan there had not been a request for such action in more than a year.

Jenna still wondered the rest of the night about many of the vampire and werewolf traits in the _Twilight_ books. How much of it was actually true, and how much was only half truths? The first thing she thought of was the myth that female vampires couldn't get pregnant. This was so obviously false since Mavis had been pregnant, and both of her parents were vampires before she was born. Jenna filed those questions away; there'd be plenty of time to ask those later.

* * *

Freddy had helped Margaret take as many of her belongings as the two of them could shove into the hearse. Neither of them knew if they would ever be able to return to get the rest of Margaret's things. Freddy had grabbed only two pictures of him and his mother he still had. He didn't care about anything other than those.

"So how far away is this place?" Margaret asked shortly after we left the castle.

"About four hours," Freddy answered smiling with a chuckle. He couldn't believe what she would see; not only more vampires, but also werewolves, Frank, and more. But there was one thing that kept entering Freddy's head, and about twenty minutes into the journey he asked it. "Why'd you stay after mom left?"

Margaret was holding back tears. She knew the truth, and their mother did not leave.

"What's wrong, Maggie?" Freddy asked as he put his right arm around his sister and tried to comfort her.

"Mom… she's … she didn't leave."

Freddy pulled into a roadside park. He knew where this was going and he didn't like it. Secretly he always feared that this was the case. "Let me guess," Freddy sighed, his eyes gleaming despite the fact that a rage was burning inside of him, "Grandpa?"

Margaret could only nod her head. "About a month after mom took me in, Gustav found out the truth." Freddy knew that his sister never called his grandfather anything other than his name. "He saw me carrying mom as I floated around. I tried as hard as I could to hide my true self from everyone here, but mom was different. When she found me, I was about to..." but Margaret broke down in tears before she was able to say another word. "Oh god!" She cried.

Freddy pulled her in even closer, letting her forehead touch his chin as he softly stroked her dark brown hair. "It's okay," Freddy said softly.

Margaret pulled away from his embrace. "No, it's not!" She screamed ashamed of herself. "I almost bit her. I had been by myself for more than a year and was almost feral. I couldn't control myself, and almost…" She couldn't continue. Margaret begin crying uncontrollably. She had nearly killed the person who had been the nicest to her since her family was slaughtered.

For the first time, Freddy didn't know what to say. He wished that Dracula was there as he always knew just the right words to help him. "You didn't. Remember that," Freddy told his sister as he pulled her back in.

After a few deep breaths, aided by the love of her brother, Margaret was finally able to resume. "There was something in mom that stopped me, and I'm so glad it did. But the night mom died, Gustav made me watch. He slit her throat so casually, so naturally that I couldn't believe it. He even invited me to feast on her blood, but I was so disgusted that all I could do was throw up. The next day he started trying to train me to hunt monsters but I knew the truth. There was nothing else out there that was half as much of a monster as he was. I did everything he ordered, but I had vowed to never raise my hand in anger at any creature again."

Freddy joined Margaret in tears as she told him of what she had witnessed. He always feared that his mother was dead, but had been able to hold onto a small glimmer of hope that she was alive somewhere out there and would come take the two of them away from all of the hate. Freddy gasped at why he had such a keen interest in monsters, "It wasn't because of Uncle Freddy, but because of mom! And you!"

"What are you talking about?"

"That's why I wanted to meet monsters! I knew they weren't that different from us."

Just then something started bombarding the roof of the car. Looking out the window, the two saw what it was. Someone or something was hurling large rocks towards them.

Margaret's eyes glowed dark green as she focused on seeing what was trying to assault them, that's when she saw their assailants. "There's a big bat and two large birds doing it," she yelled at him.

The hearse lurched forward as Freddy forced the large vehicle back into gear. Luckily they were still on the highway when the attack happened, and were able to outrun the two birds. The bat, however, was able to match their speed, almost 80 miles per hour (100 KM/H)

"We've gotta stay ahead of them!" Freddy yelled almost in a panic, as he had the accelerator to the floor, but the large vehicle refused to go any faster. This would be a problem, because they would soon be approaching Brasov and that would mean city traffic, even during the current 02:00 hour.

No sooner than the hearse entered the city limits of Brasov, had traffic slowed to a crawl. Both of them knew that they were sitting ducks in traffic. Freddy was about to suggest that they try to flee on foot, but that's when Freddy noticed a familiar brown blur fly past the vehicle and start to fight the man-sized bat.

A smile crossed Freddy's face as he saw Karen's bat form rush past the car and go after the man bat, although he wondered how she knew where to find him. That's when a black bat with glowing red eyes came into view, and he realized the answer. Dracula had told her where he was going.

The two vampires made quick work of the man-bat. Nikola wanted no part in fighting the legendary Count Dracula by himself, let alone with it being two on one against, but he wasn't able to retreat quick enough. Karen caught him first and hit him with a huge right hook that sent him flying away from the city with such force that he struck a mountain more than two miles away, fracturing some of the granite. The two birds fled as soon as they noticed the vampires, and were left to retreat in peace.

Dracula and Karen landed in the hearse but were unable to find enough room to return to their vampire forms, so they remained as bats. Karen stood perched on Freddy's right shoulder, which made him smile from ear to ear. Shortly after getting through Brasov, Freddy found an abandoned gas station and pulled over to allow them a minute to stretch out their legs and meet his sister. Before Karen was able to change back, Freddy already had her in his arms with a large smile on his face. "You always will be my guardian angel, won't you?" Freddy asked as Karen returned to herself still in his arms.

"Kind of my job, zing zing," she answered as she returned his embrace. After a minute, her glance turned to Margaret and she asked, "But I have to know who this lovely young lady is?"

"This is my sister, Maggie."

At the first sight of Margaret, Karen saw a resemblance to Martha, but wasn't sure if it meant anything or not. But now that she had returned to her vampire form, she could smell a familiar scent. It was vague but definite; this girl was certainly a vampire.

"Well this certainly is a pleasure," Karen said softly, maintaining her smile. "I'm Karen, and me and this silly little guy," adding as she squeezed Freddy's waist lovingly, "are in love."

Margaret smiled as she was told about her brother and zing. "You always did have a thing for older women," adding with a laugh.

Freddy also had a large grin on his face. "You have no idea. And I'm ready; there's no more reason to wait." His glance turned to Karen as he dropped to a knee.

Karen blanched as she thought about what he could be preparing to do, her eyes changing color to blood red as she read his thoughts. When she realized what he was going to do tears started to fill her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Karen, I'm ready for the commitment. Will you marry me?"

Even though Karen knew this was coming from reading his thoughts, she still wasn't ready for this. It took a few seconds, but she nodded.

"I'm ready to be with you," Freddy said with tears in his eyes as rose to embrace her again before he added, "forever."

A black bat landed in the clearing with the rest of them, and Dracula returned to his regular form. He had heard everything, and was felt himself being drawn to Margaret. There was something eerily familiar about this young girl. _No,_ Dracula thought, _not a girl, but a young lady_. What was drawing him to her was her eyes. They were so familiar, but he couldn't place them.

Karen and Freddy still held each other in the pure bliss from their recent engagement, but couldn't help but notice the expression on both Margaret's and Dracula's faces. There was a look of familiarity between them, as if two star crossed lovers found each other again after what seemed to the two of them as if it was an eternity. Karen was the first one to recognize what should have been so obvious to her when she heard Margaret's voice for the first time, which resulted in a loud gasp.

Freddy felt her shaking, but wasn't sure what it meant. He saw in how his sister looked at Dracula; the exact same thing that he saw in Karen's eyes when he looked at her. The first thing that entered his mind was that Margaret was just too young to find her zing. And even deeper than that was that Karen had told her was that one only zings once in their life. Dracula and Martha had definitely zinged.

"She's baaaack," Karen said stretching the word 'back' out in sing-song answering Freddy's queries.

"Who?" Freddy asked still holding onto his new fiancée.

"Martha!" Karen answered in a whispered gasp.


	37. Reunited

**AN:** I know, it's been a while but I got sidetracked on other projects. Don't worry because I intend to finish the story, but I might be a month or so between updates.

* * *

Chapter 37  
Reunited

"How?" Freddy asked still holding Karen's waist so the two were shoulder to chest as they looked at the way Dracula and Margaret still looked at each other. "I mean Drac's wife has been gone for a century, right?"

Karen shook her head at him. "We don't stay dead forever. We can come back."

"Have you?"

Karen shrugged and her arms finished around him again. "We don't remember unless we get our memories restored."

Dracula and Margaret were still lost in each other's face. It looked as if they had been waiting for this moment forever, which really wasn't that far from the truth. Karen and Freddy went to introduce them to each other since it looked as if Margaret and Dracula would have simply stayed as statues if they weren't given a little shove.

"Sis," Freddy uttered as he tried to clear his throat, which did not produce the reaction he expected from her.

Margaret startled, snarled exposing her fangs at her brother which sent Freddy recoiling slightly. If not for the fact he still held Karen by the waist, Freddy might have sprinted back to the car. Margaret blushed when she realized that it was her brother and appeared to return to her consciousness. "Sorry," she apologized highly embarrassed from her actions.

Freddy was smiling his normal dopey smile again. "No problem Maggie, but have you met Drac?"

Dracula growled slightly at the human; a low sound that emanated from deep in the vampire's chest that added to the apprehension that Freddy had towards Dracula, but that had been diminishing. In the past few weeks, Freddy had become much like the nephew that Dracula never had and that feeling was mutual. The two of them saw the other as more than family, since lies had set both of them on a course that neither of them truly wanted to be on any more.

"Not really," Margaret answered to her brother after rushing to his side to hug him in apology for snapping at him. She had figured out by now, from what they had called Dracula exactly who he was though. She walked back to Dracula with her brother next to her and said, "My name is Maggie, and I'm a vampire."

Freddy laughed at his sister, since he greeting sounded more like it belonged in AA than here. Karen followed behind the two and as Margaret went back to Dracula, Karen and Freddy were sharing another kiss.

Dracula chuckled almost silently as he answered in reply, "My name is Dracula, and I am also a vampire." There was something that was so familiar about her to him that he couldn't stop himself from what he did next; he wrapped her in his cloak, and swung her around wildly.

Inside Margaret's head, there was a faint click; almost like the sound of the first tumbler of a lock being slid silently into place.

Karen had understood what she heard in Margaret's mind. It took three triggers to restore the memories back to one who was reincarnated, so this was the first. As soon as Karen heard the click, Margaret returned Dracula's embrace. She was recognizing her zing, her one true love as a purple gleam engulfed her brilliant blue eyes. The same light did not appear in Dracula's eyes though, but it did reflect in his.

"Drac's not zinging with Maggie too?" Freddy asked to his new fiancée.

Karen shook her head. "It's not necessary since they already did once. You only zing once, but that doesn't mean that your zing can't come back to you."

Karen rode in the hearse with Freddy while Dracula and Margaret used to opportunity to fly back as bats. The two of them started chasing each other in a game while they flew rapidly. There was much giggling and laughing during the trip, but it was interrupted when they heard the sound of crying coming from the roof of the hotel.

Margaret and Dracula landed on the roof and changed back as they saw that it was a boy on the roof crying. He had blondish ginger hair and green eyes. Dracula knew who it was and tried to calm him as Margaret rushed at just about full speed to hold and twirl him around.

"What's a matter Troy?" Dracula asked to the boy, who by now was being cradled in the arms of his recently reunited zing.

Troy answered through tears. "It's (sniff) that now (sniff) everyone but me can (sniff and snort) fly. Grandpa Mike changed an hour ago." He lost control of himself and began sobbing uncontrollably.

Margaret stroked his hair gently which seemed to make him feel better. "Don't worry about that young one. You've got plenty of time for that to happen, and besides many of us take a long time for it."

Troy was still sniffling, but was beginning to gain control of himself. He still hadn't noticed the new vampire guest that was holding him, but felt a kinship to her. "Will you help me, Uncle Drac?" He begged, jumping out of Margaret's arms and rushing to his side then floating slightly up.

Dracula chuckled at Troy. "You're closer to it than you think," he joked at his in-law. "You're floating now; that tends to come first."

"Please," Troy begged repeatedly, "please? Please? Please?" The barrage of pleases continued for another twenty seconds.

"He's not gonna stop until you say yes," Margaret laughed out at Dracula.

Dracula growled silently. This wasn't meant to scare anyone but rather show his annoyance. "Thank the stars that your parents will be back tonight."

"Mom and dad?" Troy asked in shock. No one other than Dracula really knew that Sam and Brett were coming in this early.

Dracula assumed that Troy thought that they would be leaving for home much sooner than he thought, although there was a reason why they were coming in now. "You're not leaving for another couple weeks, so don't worry about that. I'm sure you'll be all batty by then," Dracula and Margaret both laughed at the bad pun. "It's just there's something that your mom and dad need to do while they're here."

Troy nodded and felt relieved. He wasn't on as tight of a time schedule as he previously thought, but still knew that he needed to learn soon, or he'd never stopped getting razzed by his own younger brothers, especially if he crashed at lot when learning to fly.

"Here's the simple part," Dracula said as he returned Troy to Margaret's arms, "you just have to let it happen. Rushing it doesn't help; if anything it retards the ability. Both of your brothers had their first change to save someone; they couldn't think about what they were doing and it just happened. If that won't be the case for you, you just have to picture a bat in you mind and let your body copy it."

Troy closed his eyes and began to concentrate. "I'm a bat," he whispered in a style similar to Dennis did before he sprouted his fangs. He repeated it over and over growing in volume every time. "I'm a bat! I'm a bat!"

He kept doing it for a few minutes before a brown mist started to surround his body, but he didn't change. "Troy, you're trying to hard," Margaret said rubbing the back of the boy, who was panting from exhaustion. She sat him down, and closed her eyes. "Watch." A blue mist quickly surrounded her and a black furred, blue eyed bat replaced her that flew around for a few seconds before perching on his right shoulder.

Dracula smiled at Troy getting help from, what he assumed was the reincarnation of his zing. Since she missed so much with Mavis's training, Dracula thought that he should leave the two of them alone to practice. He took the chance to prepare the infirmary for Troy's parent's arrival since something had to be tested soon after they arrived since Brett and Sam would only be staying for about two weeks, and the transformation required at least two days, and could possibly take much longer.

"Just breathe deeply and focus," Margaret added to Troy still perched on his shoulder.

Troy began to do as instructed. Within a few seconds, the mist began to surround Troy again but this time when it dissipated a reddish brown bat with red eyes replaced him. As the mist began to appear, Margaret took flight and landed on the floor next to him. "It worked!" Troy shrieked as he looked at his new form. It felt completely foreign to him, as if this was a body he was not familiar with. He began wildly flapping his wings hoping for liftoff, but he didn't move. In fact the only thing that happened from his panicked flaps was Troy became exhausted quickly, while gaining only a few inches of altitude. "Man, this is hard," a defeated Troy soon uttered.

Margaret had returned to her regular form and shook her head. "It takes time, sweetie. When I first learned it took me almost a month before my mom would let me fly alone." Margaret was enjoying herself immensely; helping a fledgling learn to fly. Then there was a black bat with red eyes and touches of white hairs that returned to his regular self, revealing that Mike had seen the whole lesson. Mike's bat form looked a lot like Vlad's was, except for not having quite as many white and gray whiskers.

"Thank you," Mike whispered to Margaret, "and I'm sure Troy says the same thing, doesn't he?"

"Thank you! Thank you!" Troy shouted so embarrassed that he said it twice. "It feels so weird, but man is it cool! Can you help me some more?"

Margaret smiled as she looked at the sky. The sun was beginning to peak through the mountain tops. "Gladly, but it looks like we're outta time tonight. How bout tomorrow midnight?"

"Thank you! Thank you!" Troy said repeating it over and over again as he floated up to hug Margaret around her neck, almost strangling her with his newfound strength.

"No problem. I actually like helping you, but I'm getting thirsty," Margaret said looking around. "Think there's some Near Blood around here somewhere?"

"Of course," Mike said smiling as his stomach began rumbling. He led them all down to the kitchen and was surprised to see that Margaret wasn't the only new arrival that night. As they arrived to the dining room, Mike and Troy were surprised to see that Sam and Brett had arrived and were sitting with Dracula.

Troy thought something was off with his mom, but he didn't know that Sam had lost her vampiric abilities. He was surprised to see her sipping on a human soda instead of a blood surrogate. "What's wrong with mom?" He asked to his grandfather.

"Nothing, just she had something unexpected happen to her a couple weeks back. Drac and your dad are gonna try and take care of it tomorrow; that's why they came in now."

"Auntie Maggie?" Troy asked

Margaret was shocked that Troy not only knew her nickname, but was calling her 'auntie'. But that didn't mean that she didn't like it. "Yes sweetie?"

"How old were you when you learned to fly?"

"Oh, that. Well, I was 43," she answered causally.

Mike looked surprised at her. He still hadn't figured out the vampire to human age comparisons. "I know this is rude, but how old are you now?" Mike asked even though he knew better.

"117," Margaret answered not sounding upset at all.

After dinner, Dracula and Mike accompanied Sam and Brett to the infirmary. They had to test something on Brett if he was going to change Sam. Dawn had broken, but there was no danger to any of the monsters inside the castle, since glass was enough to protect them from the sun. Doctor Jekyll met them upon entry. "Greetings master, what can I do for you?"

"We need to see if Brett here is venomous," Dracula answered as he shook the hand of the resident physician.

"Easy enough," Jekyll answered with a grin. He had checked this on the newest vampires several times, and to this point, only Dennis, Jenna, and Johnny had shown any inclination of being venomous. Of them, Dennis's was the most potent although he wasn't sure if it was because Dennis was truly half vampire or it had been more than a year since his awakening. Testing Brett would give more of an indication, since he had awoken almost three decades ago. He suspected that there probably something to this with Brett, since he and Jonathan could have passed for being the same age, rather than Brett being almost ten human years his senior.

"So what do I gotta do?" Brett asked. While he wasn't as squirmish as Jonathan when it came to a doctor's office, it still wasn't his favorite thing to do.

"I'll need a swab of your mouth's secretions and a blood sample," the doctor added in a tone of curiosity for his own personal knowledge more than anything else.

"How long will the results take?" Dracula asked his employee. He knew the transformation worked best on a full moon, and the next night would be one.

"I can have them in a matter of hours. The saliva test is simply a microscopic one, where I see if venom is present. The blood test gives a better indication of its potency."

Brett opened his mouth, and the doctor swabbed what felt to Brett as all around his mouth. Then a blood sample was drawn. Brett hoped that this would confirm that he could change Samantha, assuming she still wanted that. He wasn't as sure as he was earlier, since the two of them hadn't talked about it since the night when her fangs fell out. But he could tell from listening to her in her sleep that she still longed to fly with her whole family.

Also, Brett had pondered what he would do if the test was negative for venom. Could he ask Dracula to change Samantha, and would he even be willing to? Or would Jacob, his eight times great grandfather be a better candidate? And there still was a chance that Samantha wouldn't want anyone other than Brett to bite her.

It was less than twenty minutes after the draws that Brett had his answer. While he was venomous, it was of very low potency. It was possibly for his to initiate the change on someone, but the doctor speculated that it would require a long time to complete. This was something that the two of them didn't have. So that would mean that their best option, assuming Samantha was willing was to have one of the pure vampires change Samantha. That would make things tricky, since she would be completely unable to go outside in direct sunlight just like what was the case with Mike even thought Brett and their children could. But little did Brett know that a chance meeting of Samantha and another who couldn't sleep would set everything in motion.


	38. Two Halves Make a Whole

**AN:** It was suggested that I make a list of all the characters and specify if they can or cannot go out in direct sunlight. Thanks to Whisper for that suggestion. Also to the guest known as Petri, Jonathan's and Dennis's relationship hasn't developed like you suggested during the story because Dennis and Connor have been almost inseparable since his family came for the wedding and Connor grew his vampire fangs.

Human: Freddy and Sam

Hybrids: Dennis (true half-breed), Linda, Brett, Kent, Johnny, Jenna, Troy, Parker, and Connor. All of them can go into sunlight, but Dennis is becoming more sensitive to it and can get burnt easily, although not as quickly as the full vampires.

Vampires: Drac, Mavis, Jacob, Karen, Margaret, Virginia, Ivan, Mike, and Michele. All of these cannot go in direct sunlight as they start to burn the second it touches their skin.

* * *

Chapter 38  
Two Halves Make a Whole

"Are you having any second thoughts?" Karen asked to Freddy as they sat in the hotel lounge enjoying some late morning entertainment. It was just after 7:00, so there was a sparse monster crowd. The restaurant, on the other hand, was beginning to change from monster centric to human, as many monsters are nocturnal. Nevertheless, all the services of the hotel had been opened to all guests around the clock since it opened to human guests almost a decade ago.

"Huh?" Freddy responded turning his attention from the entertainment for this morning, a zombified Frank Sinatra singing, and towards his zing.

"Are you regretting proposing to me?" Karen asked again, a sad puppy dog like look coming from her face, the look centered on her eyes.

Freddy laughed, completely stunned by her inquiry. "Are you out of your mind? Last night was one of the best of my life."

Karen was smiling again. "But why didn't you say anything to me on our way back?"

"I was thinking about how long we should wait to," Freddy said, but he began to stumble and struggle for the best way to describe what he was so nervous about, "you know. Getting married and all of that jazz." In reality it wasn't the getting married part that he was scared about, but something else that while he wanted, he had been told so many lies about that it was difficult to know what he was in for until they did it.

Karen misted around the table, and was sitting in a seat next to Freddy before he even realized what had happened, with their eyes separated by less than a foot. "I've waited for you for more than four centuries, so I can wait as long as you need," Karen said as the two leaned into each other's lips to share a kiss. Freddy still hadn't gotten used to all of this; the feeling of Karen's kiss, which felt amazing as his fire met her ice. The two were so different, but at the same time absolutely perfect for the other. Then there was that other thing, her razor sharp fangs just inches away from his soft, human lips, with Karen's teeth more than capable of sinking into his flesh. But never before had Freddy even felt them, even when they kissed, until now.

For the first time since the two met, Karen fangs scraped Freddy's lips accidentally, which sent a wave of passion through both of them. Freddy's was caused from the fact he felt them for the first time, which was a tremendous aphrodisiac. Karen, on the other hand, accidentally got a slight taste of Freddy's blood, which could best be described as a forbidden fruit to her. She craved more, but knew that tasting it would certainly be disastrous to both of them, as she pulled away forcefully the moment she realized what had happened.

In Karen's haste to pull away she pushed Freddy, sending him flying almost five feet into the back of the only other monster in the lounge at the time, Bigfoot. Freddy looked up at the big furry leg he crashed into as the monster growled, more out of annoyance that anything else. Dracula had told Freddy how Jonathan had freaked out when he first learned that all of the monsters in the hotel were real, but Freddy never was that scared. Even still, Freddy apologized just as Jonathan had. "Sorry, big man," he laughed to the yeti as the monster waved back.

Freddy looked at Karen, terrified of her for the first time. Her eyes had a reddish hue to them, and her face looked tortured. "What's wrong, my love?" He asked, genuinely concerned for her.

"Stay away from me!" She roared back to him, which sent him into tears. This was what Freddy had feared the most; that one day she would reject him. "I'm a monster."

"Yeah you are," Freddy said softly as he stepped slowly and cautiously towards her, "but you're my monster." By the time he finished, Freddy had Karen back in his arms and she started to calm down.

"But I'm dangerous," she protested to him.

Freddy shook his head. "I don't think so, and even if you are I don't care. I want you," he said as he kissed her cheek, "and only you."

"Thank you," Karen said as she retuned his embrace a little too tightly.

"Ugh, Karen," Freddy groaned from the pain of her hug, "can't… breathe."

"Sorry!" Karen apologized letting him go, but Freddy's arms did not release her. "I just for-" but Karen was interrupted by Freddy's kiss again, which this time they shared without incident.

The zombie Sinatra had finished his set, and music began playing from a jukebox as a familiar friend walked in. "Hey guys," Sam said looking slightly upset about something as she sat at the table with them.

"Hey Sam," Karen answered smiling at her. Karen knew why Sam and Brett had returned to Transylvania earlier than expected, so she asked, "How'd it go in the infirmary?"  
Tears started to fill Samantha's eyes as she answered, "Not good."

"I'm so sorry," Karen answered as Freddy was unsure why Sam went to the clinic. "So Brett's not venomous?"

Sam shook her head. "It's not that; he is, but it's just very little. The change would take way too long."

"Do you still want to?" Freddy asked now understanding the reason for their trip.

Sam, still with tears in her eyes nodded her head. "Yeah, but Brett couldn't do it. And I don't know if I'd want it to be anyone else."

Karen rushed to Sam's side to give her a gentle hug. "All you'd have to do it ask. If you want to, I would and I'm sure that Drac or Jake would too."

"That's not it," Sam said tears now streaming from her eyes at how wrong she had been about all of her monster family and friends. "I talked to this vampire… I think her name was Ginny."

"Oh, so you met Virginia and Ivan?" Freddy asked smiling since she met his best friend.

"How do you-"

Freddy interrupted Sam, "He was my best friend before… no while we were growing up. He just learned the truth about them before I did."

"Oh, sorry," Sam apologized, slowly regaining control of her emotions. "It's just that Virginia said that it was very personal, so it should be Brett. If not him, then someone else who was very close family. I don't know if I asked Mike what he would say, or even if he could. Other than him, who should I… no who I could ask?

Margaret had walked into the lounge and sat at a table across the room from anyone else. Everything had seemed just too weird today. From being saved by Dracula and then zinging with him, to meeting Troy and helping him learn to turn into a bat; it had just been too much. She had tried to fall asleep, but now it seemed that something was calling her to this room now. Margaret still couldn't believe what she had seen in the hotel; humans and monsters interacting and becoming friends. She wasn't shocked, since even though Freddy didn't know the complete truth about her, he never treated her like anything other than a close sister, and a better friend.

"Sis!" Freddy shouted across the room as he waived for her to join them. "There's someone I want you to meet."

Margaret went to join her brother and his fiancée, who were sitting with someone else who was obviously human. "What's up big bro?" She said as she hugged her brother with a smile again on her face.

"Sis, this is Sam. Drac said you met her oldest son earlier."

"Oh, so you're Troy's mom?" Margaret said understanding why Freddy really wanted the two of them to formally meet.

"What'd he do this time?" Sam sighed, assuming that Troy had broken something of Margaret's.

"Nothing, it's just that I was helping him with the whole bat thing."

"Oh," Sam said absolutely embarrassed at her assumptions. Troy hadn't mentioned that he had help in learning how to transform, so she assumed that it happened for him like it did for his brothers. "He didn't mention you. Sorry."

Margaret went to shake hands with Sam, but as they approached each other, Karen noticed something about the two of them for the first time. When their features were combined, they equaled Martha perfectly. The first clue that Karen had was their eyes; Margaret had the perfect shade, but the shape was off. When looking at the two young ladies together, she realized that Sam's eyes had the shape exactly right. Then the hair; once again a perfect mix of the two. Sam's color with Margaret's volume and style. Their only thing they shared together that was exactly right was their lips; they both had the exact same mouth, and it was so clearly Martha. The rest of the body was an almost equal mix of the two. That's when Karen realized why he thought there was a reason why Martha's spirit had found Sam briefly. Martha's reincarnation was split between the two of them, almost equally.

After quickly shaking hands, the two women pulled into a gentle, girl friend like hug, with smiles overtaking both of their faces. That's when Karen heard another faint click coming from Martha and realized that it was the meeting might be the key to the second trigger of restoring Martha's memories to Margaret.

As the two women separated from their hug, Karen realized who it should be who change Sam, and it was the other half of the whole. Karen wondered how best to broach the subject, and wondered if Margaret would even be willing to try and change someone. But knowing that Margaret had helped her son earlier might convince Margaret to try. But then Karen thought of a way to make the two halves of Martha realize why they felt so drawn to each other.

"I wonder if Drac's still awake," Karen whispered her thought which only Margaret heard.

"Why?" Margaret asked softly, not trying to let the humans hear, even though Sam knew something was going on.

"Freddy, can I see you later?" Karen asked hoping that her zing wouldn't pry. "There's something I need to do now."

"Okay love," he said softly giving her a parting kiss on the right cheek, but before the three ladies left he added, "but I'm gonna hold you to it."

Karen winked back at him with a smile as the three left at just above a walking pace. They quickly headed to the manager's suite, with Karen knocking on it when they arrived.

From inside the the room, there was a soft but aggravated growl. "What is it this time?" Dracula asked his annoyance at his staff not being hidden. Since Jenna had become his assistant manager, she had been able to handle more than ninety per cent of the issues that crept up, but today was her day off, and she was spending it shopping for baby necessities with Wanda and Linda.

The door almost flew open, which sent Margaret and Sam recoiling from shock more than fear as they leapt into each other's arms.

"Drac, you really need to calm down," Karen said smiling at her old friend.

"What is it Karen? You know I do not like my slumber interrupted."

"I wanted to show you something," Karen answered softly, as she accompanied the two ladies into Dracula's suite, dragging them in her pink mist form. Margaret was more than used to this, but to Sam it was extremely awkward as this strong cloud was able to take her anywhere she wanted. The two stopped facing towards the room, but standing against a wall. "Look," Karen whispered to Dracula, pointing at the two ladies.

Dracula was stunned. Karen had stopped the two of them directly under Martha's portrait and he noticed what Karen had for the first time. Martha was evenly split between the two of them. "Holy Rabies!" He yelled excitedly but quietly as not to wake the other monsters who might be asleep by now.

Karen took out her phone and took a picture of the two. In the time since Jonathan had first learned that vampires could be photographed by cell phone cameras, they had learned that some did allow full pictures to be taken, while other could only take selfies. Karen's phone was one that would work in any direction.

Karen went to where the two women still stood, not realizing why they were in the spot they were until they saw the picture. Both of them gasped, almost in unison when they saw. The thought then filled Sam; that Margaret should be the one to turn her.

"Could you," Sam asked to Margaret, "could you change me?"

"I…I don't know how," Margaret stuttered from the shock of being asked.

"I can teach you," Dracula said softly, placing a hand on her right shoulder. He realized why Karen had brought the two ladies to see the portrait; that Martha's reincarnation is the two of them combined.

"Please?" Sam begged as she hoped to convince Margaret. "Brett can't do it, and I don't know how else to ask."

Margaret nodded in agreement. She would spend the early part of the next night with Dracula learning exactly what she needed to do to change a human into a vampire, and they would proceed shortly after midnight, assuming Sam didn't back down.

* * *

In a dark cave several hundred kilometers from the hotel stood Nikola trembling at the feet of his master. The report of his failure had reached Michele shortly after the two birds returned to their base without the man-bat. "You've failed me," Michele said coldly, his eyes looking snake like even though they lacked pupils. "I gave you one job, and you failed."

"But it wasn't my-"

Michele interrupted Nikola before he was even able to begin his explanation. " **SILENCE!"** With the vampire saying it so loudly that the vibrations echoed the cave for several minutes, even knocking some stalagmites from the ceiling. "I don't want any excuses."

"But Dracula."

"Oh, my wonderful son-in-law, who had one job in this world and that was to keep my daughter safe from that wretched scum that walks the earth. He couldn't even do that right, and you expect me to believe that he stopped the three of you?!"

"It wasn't just him. There was another-"

Yet again, Nikola was cut off. "Of course there was, but **SHE'S JUST A CHILD!"** Yet again said forcefully with Michele's voice booming through the cave.

"No," Nikola whimpered, terrified of his master, "another older one; about the same age as… you know who." The bat was terrified to use Dracula's name.

"Oh," Michele said starting to understand what had really happened. "So maybe I should pay the cursed one's hotel a visit. It's been too long since I fed," his quip accented with an evil laugh. "Unless I should," but he didn't finish his thought as Michele charged to Nikola with all of his speed and bit him.

Nikola screamed in pain the second that Michele's fangs pierced his harder than human skin like it was only paper. He felt the burning from the venom surge through his veins and worried that his master was going to kill him for his failure. But as quickly as the attack started, it stopped. Michele pulled away, the monster's blood still on his lips. Nikola was weak, to be sure, but was not in any distress; at least not until the venom began to overtake his nervous system.

About a minute after Michele pulled away, Nikola collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony from the venom surging in his system. He was completely paralyzed and moved around like he was having a massive seizure, which in reality wasn't that far from what was really happening to him.

"Oh stop your complaining, you worthless serf. I did you a favor. I could never make you completely vampiric, but I can make you closer than that clown did."

Nikola remained writhing in pain and screaming as he was slowly being burned alive. Every inch of him was being consumed by the hateful venom that flowed through him. "How… long?" Nikola was able to struggle out from his tortured face.

"I don't know, but you'll be of much more use to me after," Michele laughed at the thought of having a much more effective lackey with him. The birds would be useless in his plan. He had to destroy all of them, and that included the Hotel Transylvania if he was to stop the complete equality between the kinds, and time was of the essence. If Martha's reincarnation had her memories restored, that would be the dagger in the Supremacists cause.

"Jackson!" Michele commanded.

"Yes sir," A giant red bird replied as he stepped forward. His body looked the shape of a phoenix, but unlike the mythical bird there was no fire about him. From head to tail, he as almost ten feet long, and when his wings were extended, they were more than double that.

"I need a status report on the strength at that hotel. I must know how many monsters, especially how many vampires. Do not worry about the humans, as they are immaterial."

"Yes, sir!" The bird replied as he took of to scout the target.


	39. Bitten

Chapter 39

Bitten

"Do you regret your decision at all?" Mavis asked Jonathan as the two laid in their bed just before sunset. The room still held the remnants of the last light of the sun through the drapes. Twilight, the time of day where the hotel began to shift from human centric to monster, even though both species would be enjoying the other's company for some time still.

"Which one?" Jonathan asked smiling at his wife, even though he suspected which one she had in mind.

Mavis tilted her head slightly in confusion as she tried to wonder how Jonathan could have possibly forgotten what he said were his motives for wanting to be a vampire. "Remember what started all of this? You wanted to be with me forever and get to spend more time with Dennis?"

To be sure, those were two of the more important reasons why Jonathan wanted to be a vampire but they weren't the only ones. After a second, Jonathan began laughing and it grew louder by the second.

"What's so funny?" Mavis snapped at Jonathan, slightly raising her upper lip and exposing her fangs towards him.

Jonathan stopped laughing, but didn't stop smiling. He snuck a kiss with Mavis, just a slight peck on the right cheek which calmed her. "It's funny that I wanted that; ya know, spending more time with Dennis, but in the… what's it been now, six weeks or so since the wedding I don't think I spent more than an hour with him total."

Mavis smiled again. Ever since Dennis grew his fangs and saved his cousins, he and Connor became the best of friends. The two were inseparable when the boys were together. Connor growing his fangs only served to bring the two of them even closer. Every evening the two boys would go out for a fly into the orange of the setting sun, so neither of them were surprised to not hear the TV on now. "Tell me about it," Mavis sighed, "but still Sam is thinking about being changed. If there's anything you want to tell her you better do it now."

"Why would she need to be changed?" Jonathan asked, since he assumed that Sam was still just like his father; possessed by a vampire into becoming one.

"About a month ago her fangs fell out. I mean just completely popped out. They did an X-ray on her mouth when she got here. The roots were even gone."

Jonathan was stunned. He had no idea how this was even possible, but knew that Sam was as stubborn as a mule. If she had committed to doing it then there was nothing that could talk her out of it.

"I'll see her at breakfast in a little," Jonathan said trying to think of what he should say, or more importantly, what Brett would want him to say. "I can talk to her then."

Jonathan got up and stared at the setting sun through drapes he opened slightly. Being a hybrid, he was able to stay in the sun for a long time but his tolerance had declined somewhat since his awakening. He closed them, but by then Mavis had already gone into the bathroom.

In the restaurant at that evening's breakfast, there was noticeable tension in Jonathan's family. But the bigger thing Jonathan noticed when he entered with Mavis was that Dracula was nowhere to be found. The two sat at a table with the rest of his family, with Mavis on Dennis's left.

"So Sam, you make up you mind yet?" Jonathan asked trying to make it sound like he wasn't prying.

"I'm gonna do it," Samantha answered sounding completely certain in herself. No one at the table was surprised at her tone.

"You?" Mavis asked to Brett, assuming that it would be he that bit her.

Brett shook his head as his eyes fell in disappointment. "I'm don't have enough venom or something. It wouldn't work right, but Sam knows who she wants to do it." Brett sighed at the frustration of not being able to do it himself, "She won't tell me though." Brett turned to his wife and asked, "Please?"

Margaret and Dracula entered the restaurant and sat at a table along with Jonathan and his family. The two of them had been talking about the transformation process for the last hour in private. Margaret still wasn't completely sure if she'd be able to stop feeding on Samantha when the time was right, but she had been assured that Dracula, Brett, and Karen would all be there to tell her to stop and if necessary, to force her. Even still, Margaret was incredibly nervous.

"I don't know if I should try and talk you out of this or not," Jonathan said sounding worried about what Samantha was in for, even though he hadn't experienced it for himself, "but the thirst can be a little… frustrating," he said trailing off, the last word sounding more questioning than anything else.

Samantha growled softly; her growl was no longer predatory, but rather sounded annoyed. "I already know that," she said extremely annoyed at her brother-in-law.

Karen looked concerned for Samantha, asking, "Just in case Brett is not immortal, what is your plan after he dies?"

Samantha had never really thought about this possibility. What would she do if Brett would die; could she turn him into a full vampire one day if needed? It was a chance, but for now she wanted to make sure that he wouldn't have to outlive her. Also this would be something that she could talk to Jacob about, since he had more experience with this than anyone else that even Dracula could think of. She shrugged with her answer, "We'll just cross that bridge when we get there."

By now, Dracula and Margaret had joined the group. Dracula knew that the process worked best when preformed just after the moon had gone full, so he asked Jonathan to check on the exact time. They had about forty minutes until then, so Dracula accompanied Samantha, Karen, Margaret, and Brett into a private room in the infirmary to make final preparations. Margaret grabbed two quart cartons of Near Blood to take with her, quickly downing the first one in two gulps on the walk to where she would bite Samantha.

Mavis and Jonathan would take all of the children for a hunt. With all of them finding the ability to turn into bats, no longer did they need to worry about them being in danger from large animals. If they were attacked, the children would be able to fly away. It had been Dracula who actually suggested the hunt as a way to get all of them out of the hotel for a few hours, since he knew that Troy would not be as reckless as he was last time. He had learned his lesson, and would listen to what one of the adults told him.

Freddy wanted to witness the transformation since it wouldn't be all that long before he would undergo the the same thing. Karen had told him no when talking to him following her showing Margaret and Samantha that they seemed to have split Martha's spirit evenly. She had explained that any more human scent in the immediate area where Samantha would be bitten could easily distract Margaret and could also be dangerous to him. When a vampire tastes human blood it can start a frenzy, especially when the human is not the vampire's zing. Freddy relented and agreed to spend the night in the pool and doing other activities until the process was finished and then Karen would find him.

The four vampires and Samantha made it quickly to a room in the back of the infirmary. Dracula had a soft bed moved into the room for the occasion, knowing that Sam would be bedridden for at least two or three days so he wanted her to be as comfortable as possible. The doctor knew exactly what they would be doing, so he would leave them in peace unless they called for him. Jekyll knew better than most the dangers in a vampiric transformation; being the witness to a failed transformation where the vampire was unable to stop feeding before draining the human.

Brett looked extremely nervous on the walk down. That wasn't really accurate; he had grown more and more nervous since Samantha had become so resolved that she wanted this. Her talking to Virginia made him slightly more comfortable, since he realized that she wasn't in quite as much danger as he feared, but still Dracula told him the truth; that the change was only successful about 75 percent of the time. He didn't doubt at all the chances of Samantha's success since she was doing it for a very good reason. But still as Dracula and Karen strapped Samantha to the bed, Brett asked Samantha, "Are you sure about this?"

"Not really," Samantha answered looking concerned for the first time, "but I want this." She turned to Brett and had a smile back on her face. "I can't give you up. I want you forever."

Brett was struggling to hold back tears and Dracula knew why. Here it was; the ultimate and most sincere reason to go through with the change. Brett nodded at Dracula, indicating his acceptance of her desire. While this wasn't really necessary, Dracula was still happy to have it. Being next to one's zing made the change much easier to endure.

By the time that Brett had assented, Dracula had finished the last of the restraints on Samantha's head. He felt compelled to explain exactly by they were doing this and also what she was in for. "Sam, the straps are to keep you perfectly still when Maggie bites you. If you were to move while her fangs were in your neck, it might damage your jugular vein and possibly result in your death." Dracula blanched with embarrassment from being so worried about this. He shook his head vehemently allowing confidence to replace doubt. He needed to be certain that this would work.

Margaret was finishing the second bottle of the blood surrogate, trying the best she could to mentally prepare herself for what she was about to do. She was still very nervous that she'd be able to stop herself when it would be necessary since she had never tasted human blood. Dracula had been sure to tell her that there would be plenty of other vampires there to help her. The only thing that she needed to do was to try not to fight them if the needed to restrain her.

Brett was at the side of his wife and was even more worried than Margaret was. He really didn't want anyone other than himself to bite her, but that wasn't an option. Dracula had told him that to have his father do so could be dangerous, since his possession was so recent. There was no real way to know how long it would be before the call of real human blood would stop intoxicating new vampires, and Dracula couldn't be sure if possessions were any different than being bitten in.

Brett took Samantha's left hand, and gently caressed it in both of his. His face was nearly in tears as he knew that it was possible that Samantha wouldn't survive being bitten. Dracula had explained this to both of them. Brett leaned into Samantha's face with a nervous expression on him, with ranged somewhere in between horror and longing to ask one final time, "Are you sure that you want this?"

While Samantha looked concerned about what she was in for, at the same time she was certain that she did want it. She had been making plans for one day when she might have to return the favor and turn Brett into a complete vampire, although Brett looked about the same age as Jonathan now; he hadn't really aged since the two of them had married, and luckily Dracula suspected that some of the difference in age between them would be lessened when Margaret, a barely of age vampire, bit someone older than her.

Samantha looked deep in the eyes of Brett and affirmed her choice. "I do; I want this bad," she whispered into Brett's ear, but all of the vampires could hear her.

Brett looked as if tears could start flowing from his eyes at any moment. But at the same time, he knew that he shouldn't have been surprised. What he thought was his curse was awakened in him because of what happened during his first meeting with Samantha when they were children. In the past few weeks since everyone else had been turned vampire, Samantha always thought that it was right that her and Brett should both now be afflicted with vampirism.

Margaret had been waiting for both them to be ready to start. Brett finally nodded to Dracula right as the moon was becoming full. She rushed to Samantha's right side so Brett didn't have to drop her hand. "I'm so sorry," Margaret whispered into Samantha's ear, "this is probably gonna hurt."

Samantha nodded with her eyes only, signifying that she would accept anything that she was about to endure for this. "I trust you Maggie," saying it with a small smile on her face which was returned by Margaret. Margaret knew that Samantha wanted nothing more than to never have to leave Brett.

Brett nodded at Margaret to give his blessing for her to proceed. After Brett's okay, Margaret whispered, "Here goes," as she leaned into the right side of her neck and bit down as gently as possible.

When Margaret's fangs entered Samantha's neck, she whimpered slightly with a shutter. Had she not been restrained, there was a possibility that Margaret's fangs might have done more damage than was necessary. Still for almost three minutes, Margaret drank slowly from Samantha, trying to cause as little pain as possible. However something happened that no one expected.

Margaret's face slowly transformed into a more perfect version of Martha, just looking about two hundred years younger than Dracula had remembered her last. The shape of her eyes and color of her hair changed to be exactly Martha. It was as if the two halves of her spirit were reuniting to form the perfect copy. Dracula and Karen both gasped silently at the sight of Margaret's hair darkening from dark brown to black, the exact shade of Martha. They both did so quietly to not to distract Margaret. Despite this, there was no change to Samantha; she looked as she always had.

The two mature vampires told Margaret through a tap on her shoulder when it was time to stop drinking Samantha, and Margaret's fangs remained in Samantha's neck to inject venom into her. Those two minutes seemed to last forever to everyone in the room, with the exception of Samantha. After the initial shutter from being bitten, there wasn't any other indication of protest of pain from her. She had accepted what was going to happen to her and trusted all of them with everything, including her very life. Eventually, Dracula did clear his throat and Margaret looked at him with her eyes only as her mouth still remained on her neck. A nod told her that it was time for her to feed Samantha. It happened in less than a half of a second, but Margaret removed her mouth from Samantha and used her still elongated fangs to slice her own left wrist which she held to Samantha's mouth.

Samantha used all of her remaining strength to latch onto Margaret's wrist as her heart had all but stopped beating. While Margaret's blood tasted extremely sweet to Samantha, her still human brain would not allow her to do what she was doing without disgust. She was drinking blood and it didn't matter to her human mind that it was being offered to her voluntarily. Eventually her heart did stop but she did not stop drinking. In fact the strength of the attraction to blood seemed to increase in Samantha as her body began the change. When her heart stopped, Karen pulled Brett away from her since the restarting of the heart can be dangerously violent. Yet again, a nod from Dracula signaled Margaret to remove he wrist as Samantha's heart resumed its normal rhythm.

The restarting of Samantha's heart stunned Dracula. Normally when the heart started beating again, it would be accompanied with the body being almost bent in half. Even with restraints, there was normally some indication of pain or torture but Samantha peacefully laid in bed, her eyes shooting open and turning deep crimson for a brief moment before closing again as she still wore a gentle smile on her face. Dracula nodded at Brett's thought when he wondered if he could return to Samantha's side to which Brett nearly flew to her side again as he gently caressed and kissed her left hand.

Dracula looked completely shocked at the changing human. All of those in the room could hear the change proceeding. Fangs growing was the first change was happening, and it was almost instantaneous with the restarting of the heart. Samantha did grow her fangs, and they were extremely long and sharp.

With the success of Samantha's transformation certain, now it was time for all of the changes to her body to happen. Unlike with Jonathan and his family this was not an instantaneous change but rather took several days. While the testing on Brett determined that his venom was of very low potency, his blood was of sufficient quality where he could feed her every few hours. This would allow the hotel to return to relative normalcy as only Brett would have to stay by Samantha. Samantha laid in her bed and waited for the changes to start. Even thought she knew what she was in for and it would take several days for the change to complete, her brain was able to process everything. Unlike when Ivan was bitten and he was almost unconscious as the worse of the changes happened, Samantha would feel everything, at least to start. Dracula, who had an enhanced gift to hear other's thoughts, especially vampires, could hear the changes starting and the silent sobs of pain that Samantha was starting to let through. This would be something that he would hide from everybody, and it would be up to Samantha to share with Brett. He felt bad enough about Samantha wanting this so much and him not being able to change her himself, so Dracula did not want to add anything else to his guilt.

After about ten minutes of near silence, Dracula, Karen, and Margaret left the infirmary to give Brett and Samantha some privacy. Margaret's eyes now glowed a deep blue.


	40. Scouting

Chapter 40

Scouting

It had taken almost a full day, but Jackson returned to his master's lair horrified from what he saw. The hotel now contained almost as many humans as monsters which, while concerning how a monster, let alone a vampire would ever seek to serve the inferior species, that wasn't the most disturbing thing he witnessed.

"What do you have to report?" Michele asked coldly upon seeing the bird return from his mission.

Jackson was terrified of his master, noticing his even brighter red eyes and Nikola lying on the floor writhing in agony. Two new puncture marks were prominent on the side of his neck, which indicated that for some reason, Michele had bitten the bat.

"I don't have all night," Michele demanded, his voice sounding even colder than normal. "Perhaps you wish to join him?" The vampire offered as he pointed to Nikola as the vampire opened his mouth exposing his menacing fangs.

"No… sir," Jackson was able to offer stuttering after another few seconds. "It's worse than we thought." The bird allowed another few seconds to pass so he could regain his composure. "There's about thirty monsters there, and even more humans."

Michele began to salivate from the possibility of such a banquet at his fingertips. It had been far too long since he had tasted pure human blood, and the chance of such an opportunity could not be passed up, no matter the odds. Nikola would be done with his changing shortly, and they would go that night. The odds didn't matter, since Michele was confident that no one other than Dracula, his failure of a son-in-law who had only one job in the world and that was to keep his daughter safe, would stand against him. There could be no other vampire there who could possibly match his fury after the death of Vlad. "We leave at sunset tomorrow." He stormed out of the great hall and to his coffin. If they were going to siege the hotel, then he should get some rest.

Jackson hadn't been able to even say what concerned him the most. The strength of the hotel was much more than they could have possibly ever imagined, and it seemed that Dracula was creating even more monsters out of humans. He witnessed a young vampire biting a human girl, and initiating the transformation in her. If figured that the high and mighty Dracula wouldn't want to get his own hands dirty. He knew that this was something that Michele certainly would need to know before the attack, but the vampire was obsessed with this quest. Once his mind had been made up there was no stopping him, no matter the hazard.

"What is it?" Nikola asked as his convulsing had stopped suddenly and he regained control of himself. The bat now looked about four inches taller and his skin looked even harder than it had been before.

"Dracula… they're creating," Jackson stuttered out, having trouble fathoming what he had saw. The intentional creation of new vampires was an extremely taboo act, with most of those transformed seen as merely pawns for the conquering plans of the ambitious creators. The bites on Nikola only served to validate that prejudice; Nikola was certainly only a servant for Michele to use and then to eliminate when he was no longer needed.

Nikola began to laugh sinisterly. "I always knew that turncoat had other plans," he laughed, as he thought he understood why Dracula would be creating newborns. "How many?"

"I recognize four, other than… you know." Nikola nodded since Michele had made is an offense to say Dracula's name for any reason. "But he's even using the new ones to turn more into new ones. It was a young girl biting this human."

"That's disgusting!" Nikola groaned out as he looked like he would be sick. "I knew that bastard couldn't be trusted. Turning humans and as equals; yuck!" He kept sticking out his tongue, almost as if Nikola was trying to remove a repulsive taste from his mouth.

"That's why we must strike quickly. There are many more vampires going through that cursed place than I ever thought possible. I only saw five at present, plus a couple mutts, but I smelled many more."

This would be a much tougher mission than either of them thought possible. Jackson was seriously considering abandoning Michele at this point. He never signed up for a suicide mission, but with that many vampires defending the hotel, it would surely be a massive brawl. Nikola on the other hand, welcomed the fight. He was still thoroughly pissed at the father of Dracula for changing his position on humans and welcomed the upcoming fight.

* * *

Jonathan was making his rounds through the hotel, filling in for his sister who was having a difficult time with her pregnancy in the last few days. Dracula suggested the night before that she take a couple nights off, and see if that would help to regain her strength. Jenna was laid up in the hotel's infirmary under the care of Doctor Jekyll in the room next to Samantha.

Jonathan decided to head to the infirmary to check on both of them. Jenna seemed to be doing much better since Jekyll doubled her rations of Blood Beaters, but with increased fluid diet she needed to use the restroom much more frequently. Still, Jonathan was smiling when he entered her room and saw her looking in much better shape than he remembered her.

"Hey Johnny!" She crowed with a welcoming smile when she saw him come in.

Jonathan was glad to see Jenna looking much better than she had the last few days but it was still difficult to see her not looking like her normal joking self. She looked as if she could give birth any day now, despite the fact that she'd only been pregnant for about six weeks. Even more surprising, Jenna never had expressed any interest in having kids until after she had gotten engaged, and then she couldn't wait to be a mom. Jonathan thought that the power of a zing was weird since Mavis was the same way; she hadn't wanted kids either until she found out that they were pregnant with Dennis and they had been trying in the last few months to have another but had yet to be successful.

"The doc says that you're doing better," Jonathan said rubbing Jenna's back in between her shoulder blades, even scratching them with small claws that Jonathan had grown just for the purpose. It was always something that Jenna loved; to have her back scratched.

A contented sigh came from Jenna, accompanied with a grin. The only thing that could make this better would be if Wilbur was the one scratching her. "I feel better, but man I am huge. And I think it's more than one."

"Twins or a litter?" Jonathan asked nervous for her and Wilbur.

Jenna shrugged. "I hope just twins, but I really don't think it matters."

"How can you tell?"

Jenna grabbed Jonathan's left hand and placed it over her womb. Almost on the cue from Jonathan's hand touching her skin, two hands pushed up onto Jonathan's. "I've felt more than two," Jenna said smiling, "almost like they know when I want to touch them."

Jonathan gave Jenna a hug, and then proceeded to find the doctor again. Jenna's condition was only one of the things he wanted to check on and after visiting with his sister, he wasn't worried about her any more. He was more concerned with Sam and Brett. Griffin had told Jonathan that consuming souls can change a vampire, and when Jonathan saw Margaret after they did whatever they needed to do to Sam to make her a vampire, she looked different. Maggie still looked incredibly friendly, but her hair had changed color and there was a few other things. Brett hadn't left Samantha's side since then, being brought a few rations of substitute since he would be feeding Samantha himself.

Jonathan knocked quietly on their door after being told by the doctor that Samantha was doing just about as well as can be expected. One thing encouraged Jekyll; Samantha seemed more peaceful than almost anyone he had seen endure the change before. The doctor even speculated that this would have been similar to the way Jonathan would have been, since he would have been changed for Mavis.

It took a few seconds, but eventually Brett came to the door and was relieved to see Jonathan.

"Hey bro," Jonathan crowed when he say his brother at the door sporting a hopeful smile.

"'Sup, Johnny?" The two man-hugged, with Jonathan giving a gentle squeeze to his brother as he looked at Sam and he could see why Brett had become more hopeful.

Sam's change was progressing right on the schedule that Dracula had said it would. Immediately after her heart restarted, her fangs sprouted and now her skin had become slightly harder than normal human flesh. Her eyes, while closed at present, had changed to crimson according to the doctor. She was more than halfway through the ordeal and soon would begin to feel the changes to her senses. Dracula had told Jonathan that this could be disorienting at first, but knew that with the help of Brett that would quickly pass. But still, Jonathan couldn't help to wish that he had gone through this himself to draw himself closer to Mavis.

"You wouldn't happen to know how much longer, would you?" Jonathan asked sounding as hopeful as Brett had looked earlier.

"Another day or so," Brett answered sounding even more optimistic than he had in the past few days. "But then comes the hard part; at least from what Drac said."

"Hard part?" Jonathan looked worried. He assumed that the transformation was the hard part.

"The first few weeks or so… she might not be…" Brett started crying as he had trouble telling Jonathan what was about to happen to Sam.

"Well help her," Jonathan said rubbing Brett's back to comfort him, "all of us; Mavis, Drac, the boys, shoot I'll bet that even Maggie'll help. Jonathan knew what Brett was trying to say. Dracula had warned him that the first few days of a transformed vampire's life is the hardest, since the instincts are the most wild then, and the thirst is the worst. While it was true that Dracula hadn't changed anyone in a very long time, there were horror stories in the monster world that said the newly created vampire was the most dangerous of all. A few of these details _Twilight_ had gotten correct; the added strength and increased thirst being the central issues. But still, if Sam could remember who she was before the change, she would have no issues with being new.

Connor and Dennis had knocked on the door shortly before Jonathan was about to leave. Brett was as happy as he could be to see how easy this had all been on Connor in particularly. Having Dennis as a great friend and teacher had been a blessing, and secretly Brett no longer regretted passing on what he thought was his curse to his kids.

"Mom," Connor whispered as he sat in a chair next to Sam with Dennis floating next to him.

Sam smiled a little and began to mutter out something that no one could understand followed by a contented sigh. Connor began to try and nudge her, but was stopped by his dad how fluttered next to them and grabbed his hand firmly but gently.

Connor looked at his father with a nervous smile asking, "Is mommy okay?"

Brett wanted to lie to his son; tell him that she was just fine, but to be sure he didn't really know. But they were interrupted by the sounds of stones crashing outside.

As soon as the noise started, Margaret ran in to the room followed by Virginia. They were there to protect Sam from whatever was coming to attack the hotel, but Margaret more than anyone else wasn't ready for who it was.

"Stay here," Jonathan whispered to the boys who wouldn't listen to him. They both followed Jonathan outside to see what all the commotion was about, but were horrified with what they saw.

Flying high above the bridge was a huge vampire, who would have dwarfed even Vlad. All were in awe of the imposing figure of the last Supremacist ruler of monsters, Michele Lubov. He had to stand more than eight feet tall and was flanked by a even taller bat monster and a large bird that while not as tall as either of the others, still was very intimidating.

With the sounds, the armors all led the few human guests in the hotel, along with many of the children into the basement for safety. But none of the Draculas or Loughrans were going to retreat, rather they all would stand together in defense of the hotel that had bound the families together. In addition Winnie would stand with her pre-zing. The defensive line was impressive, with Dracula at the spear point with the flanks manned by Mike and Ivan.


	41. End of an Era

**AN** : Hello everyone sorry it's been almost a month since the last update between coaching football and working I haven't had a lot of free time, but I hope everyone enjoys this one. Please review and let me know what you think.

* * *

Chapter 41

End of a Dynasty

Michele Lubov entered the courtyard of the hotel, accompanied by Nikola on his right and Jackson on the left. The vampire let out an evil laugh upon landing inside followed by a roar that boomed, which made all of the humans on the property retreat to the basement; all of them except for one.

Freddy completely ignored the requests of Karen and Dracula as he insisted on trying to help fight off the threat to his friends. If nothing else, he was still a trained monster hunter and he thought that those skills could prove helpful. But that really wasn't what Karen was afraid of. She was terrified that her last dream had said that he would be gravely injured in the hotel.

Michele roared fiercely again; an even deeper roar than Dracula had in the last century. By now, even most of the monsters had sought refuge wherever they could. They all sensed a battle that would be waged soon, and most of them did not want to be a part of it.

The defense of the hotel would be primarily waged by Dracula and his friends and family, who were in a defensive formation. To Dracula's immediate right was Mavis, then Jonathan, Wilbur, and Linda. On his left was Mike, who was flanked by Ivan, Jacob, and Brett, while in the notch of the 'V' that was created was Karen with Freddy. Virginia and Margaret were inside with the still recovering Sam. There also were a few other random monsters behind Freddy and Karen guarding against a surprise attack from the rear, most notably in this position were the boys and Frank.

A sinister laugh came from Michele prior to giving his order to his servant. "Kill them!" Michele ordered coldly. "That which lives must die tonight. Human and monster together; how repulsive!" The look on Michele's face stressed how disgusted he was by even the thought.

"No!" The shouted protest came from Freddy as he stepped up towards the front of the line. "You're not gonna hurt my friends!"

"What a fool," Michele said completely devoid of any emotion, save for brutality. "Friends? Monsters are superior to humans in every way. Why would you ever want to see them as equal?" The question posed to Dracula. "Nikola," he said to his servant who stopped his raid on the first human he found and turned to him.

"Yes sir?"

"This one first," commanded Michele as he pointed his right index finger directly at Freddy.

Nikola chuckled at the command. "With pleasure." He tried to fly over the defensive line, but was surprised when all the vampires levitated in formation to block his path, while Wilbur retreated to guard Freddy. "Step aside and let me deal with the fleshy."

"No!" Dracula roared back, his eyes red with the rage and determination to protect his new friend. "You're not going to harm him!"

This was the diversion that Michele had been hoping for. He had not tasted human blood in more than a year, and this was too good of an opportunity to pass up. "Fools," he whispered as he snuck under them, completely undetected towards Freddy. He was too much too strong for even Karen to stop, and it was simple feat of strength for Michele to push Karen away from his soon to be meal. Wilbur couldn't stop a vampire but he tried; big mistake. With only a slight flick on his left hand that was almost hidden from everyone but the vampires, Michele threw him to the other side of the property nearly down into the moat. Luckily his claws dug in to the soft earth at the right moment to stop his skid, but not before his feet dangled over the edge of the cliff. He was able to climb back up though.

Karen crashed with a thud high up the wall of the hotel more than twenty feet from where she started, then collapsed nearly unconscious from the impact along with several chips from the masonry that chipped off from her impact.

"Karen!" Freddy screamed at the horror of seeing his fiancée hurt as he started running towards her, not to flee Michele, but to tend to his zing.

Michele misted towards his direction, and grabbed him with only his left hand around his throat. "Don't you worry son, it will all be over soon," Michele said in a very deep tone, just slightly above a whisper accompanied with another sickening chuckle. He opened his mouth and allowed his fangs to lengthen. They were the largest canines the Freddy had ever seen in his life. The boy's face blanched for just a moment, but amazingly he didn't change his expression on his face. It was as defiant as ever. "This is going to be delicious. Those with immense courage always are, but feel free to keep squirming. It warms the blood." A final evil laugh came from Michele.

When Michele buried his mouth into Freddy's neck, a tortured scream came from Freddy as soon as his body realized what was happening to him. It was enough to restore Karen to consciousness. She watched in horror as her body refused to move at the moment from whatever injuries she had sustained. All she could do is scream, "Freddy, No!"

Those two words brought Margaret to the window. She saw in horror that someone was hurting her brother. She thought back to her training. None of what Gustav had taught her would help; he had always said that the most advantageous time to strike a bloodsucker was after they released their victim and were in the complete bliss from the banquet. This wouldn't work, since she knew that this bloodsucker wouldn't stop until he got every last drop from Freddy. She would have to strike him immediately, but she had no weapons. But then she remembered one thing from Gustav's training that did help her; she was the ultimate weapon.

She sprang from the fifth story balcony down to the courtyard and landed with a graceful summersault. Quickly she sprinted to the vampire that was attacking her brother, and her left fingers turned into almost twelve inch long claws that were as sharp as nails. She pause what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was less than a second, looking deep into the blood red eyes of Michele in horror before she plunged her hand deep into the chest of Michele.

At the strike, Michele lost his grip on Freddy, and the human slumped to the ground quivering from both pain and anemia. Jacob quickly knelt down next to the human to check his vital signs, but was horrified at what he was discovering. The boy was dying; Michele had removed far too much of his blood, and the hateful venom was poisoning him. "Karen!" Jacob screamed for his sister, who by now had completely regained control of her body. She rushed to her zing and could only weep at the damage done, holding on to his right hand. The left side of Freddy's neck had been almost shredded, and blood was still oozing from the wound. Jacob held his pocket square over the damage, but he knew only one thing could possible save him now.

The instant result of Margaret's attack was as could be hoped for; that being the release of Freddy from Michele's clutches. But after a few seconds, Michele began to gag on the blood he had ingested, and slowly it was regurgitated by him.

To almost all of the monsters in the courtyard, the smell of Freddy's blood, coupled with the vampire's bile was absolutely repulsive; all except for two. When the scent of human blood hit the air, both Dracula and Mike noticed it. Both of them were almost overpowered by its allure, but tried desperately to ignore it despite the fact that both their eyes were now almost the same shade of red that Michele's had been. It was easier for Dracula to ignore the bloodlust, but Mike was holding himself back with everything he could.

Dracula knew that Mike would have issues controlling the dark desires of his father, especially this one; this was the reason he was so scared when Mike was possessed by Vlad's spirit. He tried to restrain his friend, but was struggling. "Please, my friend, you must fight it!" Dracula was pleading with Mike.

"Dad!" Brett screamed seeing the struggle that his father was having. He joined Dracula in trying to hold off his father, but the two of them were going to fail if something wasn't done very soon. The desire for blood of the famed 'Vlad the Impaler' was simply too much for two vampires, no matter which two, to fight off.

The other four vampires plus Wilbur, who had rejoined the fight, were struggling with Nikola. None of them remembered any other of the man-bats that was half as much of a fighter as he was, not even Bela. He was able to distract all of them from his master, even though his master was in grave peril.

Michele's breathing had become extremely shallow from having the hand of Margaret still buried deep into his chest. By now, she had managed to pierce both of his lungs and was turning her attention to his heart. She used her right hand and reached into the small of her back. Something that Gustav had given her when he began training her was almost calling to her. She reached under the waist of her jeans and pulled out a large wooden stake, with a small sliver cross at the point of it. Margaret held it threateningly to the face of Michele, and was about to strike, but Michele stopped her. He finally had seen the look in her eyes that confirmed his worst fears.

"Holy Rabies," Michele cried at the realization from looking into the eyes of Margaret, "you really are her! You really are the reincarnation of my daughter."

Michele's outburst stopped Margaret in her tracks. She couldn't believe it; here was this monster who tried to kill one of the two people who saved her from being like he was, and now he was telling her that he was her father? It made absolutely no sense.

While all of this was going on, Karen was still at the side of Freddy in tears. "You're gonna be okay," Karen cried into the ear of Freddy as she caressed and kissed him gently.

Karen's comments snapped Jacob back to reality. For the second time, Jacob realized that there was only one thing that could save Freddy now, and it had to be done immediately. "Karen, you have to bite him," Jacob said to his sister sounding completely grave before yelling, "NOW!"

Karen was still in tears. "He's suffered enough. I can't," she pled. "You do it."

Jacob shook his head. "No, my dear sister. It's gotta be you! You've gotta turn him. NOW!"

"But I don't know if he wants to." Karen cried, tears now streaming from her face. She didn't want to do anything to him that he didn't want her to do.

Margaret took her glance from the nearly mortally wounded vampire completely at her mercy, and towards her friend. "He made his choice. He wants you to."

"I don't," Karen started but was interrupted by Margaret as if she knew exactly what Karen was going to say; that she didn't know if Freddy had decided to be changed or not.

"Think to when he asked you to marry him. He wants to be with you forever."

Karen thought back to the night when she and Dracula had saved them from Nikola. "He does?" she asked, even though she knew the answer.

"Hurry Karen," Jacob pleaded, "there's not much time left!"

"I'm sorry," Karen whispered into Freddy's right ear as she leaned into the still undamaged side of his neck and bit gently, gently massaging the area around her bite with her tongue as she gently caressed the back of his head with her hands.

"Don't drink," Jacob commanded. "You just need to counter Michele's venom." Karen nodded with just her eyes as her fangs were in the neck of her fiancé, with tears still in her eyes since she wasn't sure if this would work or not.

The realization nearly crushed Michele; seeing the lengths that Karen would go for Freddy. He couldn't believe that any monster, let alone a vampire would turn a human into one of their kind as an equal; an act of true love. "Holy Rabies," he cried. But this would be the last words that he ever spoke. No sooner had he finished his words that Margaret plunged the stake deep into the heart of Michele, puncturing the left ventricle of the vampire. He was dead in an instant, and his body collapsed to the ground.

Immediately after the stake pieced the heart of Michele, the faint click of the third tumbler being slid into place engulfed Margaret's head, and the memories of Martha began to fill her head. She looked with a large smile on her face at Mavis and then Dracula before the cries from Freddy overtook her consciousness. Quickly she misted to the side of her brother to help comfort him as Karen continued to inject venom into him.

"You're doing great," Margaret said to Karen as the young vampiress now held the right hand of her brother, despite the fact that her hands were still covered in the blood of the recently slain vampire.

Freddy's eyes shot open and tears were in them. "Kar, it feels like my body is on fire," Freddy said in quiet cries between labored panting. He breathing was becoming even more shallow by the second. "It hurts," he whimpered, "it hurts so bad!"

"It'll be okay Freddy," Margaret said trying to reassure her brother, as she stoked his hair with her right hand. "I promise."

"Thank you," Freddy said to all of them preparing what he thought would be his dying declaration, "to all of you."

"Okay Karen," Jacob said at the slowing of Freddy's pulse to barely twenty beats a minute. "Pull out and feed him."

"On it!" she yelled as she pulled her mouth from her zing and sliced her right wrist with one of her still elongated fangs and placed it to Freddy's mouth. "Come on Freddy," she cried, tears now streaming from her eyes. "Please drink."

It was weak, but Freddy was trying to latch on to her wrist with every ounce of strength he had left. Less than a minute later, Freddy's heart stopped.

"No!" Margaret screamed at the loss of a pulse in Freddy's wrist.

"It's okay," Jacob said trying to reassure both vampiresses. "Karen keep going. He's still okay."

It was the strangest feeling to Karen; Margaret had said that Freddy had no pulse, but yet she still felt him drinking her blood. "Does that mean…" but she was interrupted by her brother.

"Now Karen! Remove your wrist, and step away. Both of you!" Jacob commanded to both of them as he felt the first beat of his restarting heart. Jacob did exactly as he had told the ladies, releasing his hand from Freddy's left wrist and backing up about six feet. The ladies acted similarly.

A horrifying scream came from Freddy as he body arched upward before levitating almost ten feet in the air before returning towards the ground, but he was caught by both Karen and Margaret. "Kar, sis it hurts," he cried in horrendous pain.

"Well you wanted to be with my sister forever," Jacob joked with Freddy as he let out a sly chuckle.

"Not funny!" Karen snapped at Jacob. Her eyes were blood red from both the taste of blood and anger towards her brother's ill-timed joke.

"No," Freddy said struggling to speak trying to defend his future brother-in-law, "he's right, I just didn't think it would hurt this bad. Oh Ivan, why didn't you tell me that it would hurt this bad?"

By now, the group in the air had been spelled by Dracula and Brett, as Mike had landed and slowly regained control of himself. Karen's venom was spreading through Freddy's body quickly, and his scent had changed to more of a vampiric one than human. This allowed Ivan to return to the ground and go comfort his old friend. "I told you it sucks for the first few days," Ivan said with a chuckle as he tried to help Freddy cope with the absolute agony he was in. His face looked deep crimson, as if it was being burned from the inside out, which wasn't really that far off from what was really going on with him.

Freddy was trying to fight the pain and joked back, "If it sucks this bad, I better feel really amazing in a few days."

"Don't fight the pain, Freddy," Ivan said rubbing the left shoulder of Freddy. "Just let it do what it needs to, and it will pass a lot quicker. And yes, you will feel really awesome in a few days."

Neither Karen nor Freddy could have been prepared for this, but both Jacob who tried to turn his Juliet on her deathbed and Margaret who bit Samantha should have known it would cause him great pain.

"Get him inside ladies," Jacob told the two. "Karen, you have to feed him every four to six hours."

"You mean Blood Beaters?"

Jacob shook his head, "No, your blood, at least until the change is complete."

"How… long?" Freddy struggled to ask.

"A couple of days." Freddy nodded at Jacob's answer.

Even though speaking was becoming exteremly difficult, Freddy still had control of his thoughts. _I get Karen waiting on me hand and foot for a few days? Can't be all bad._ A smile crossed his lips as he realized the bright side of his pain. _And if it works, I never have to give her up_.

Dracula nodded at the two of them as Mike, who finally was able to concentrate, landed on the back of Nikola and with a quick flick of the wrist, snapped the neck of the bat.

Jackson had not participated in the fight. He saw the way Dracula protected Freddy, willing to sacrifice himself for this human. _Surely they have changed_ , thought the huge bird as Dracula and Jonathan flew to face him. Neither of them had expected the bird to surrender. As soon as the two vampires confronted him, Jackson fell to his knees with his hands up hoping that they would show mercy towards him. He couldn't blame them if the vampires killed him, but all he could hope was that it would be quick.

Dracula and Jonathan both looked at each other, with Dracula assuming that the tactic was a trick by the bird. But if that was the case, Dracula assumed that he would attack as soon as the distraction worked. Jackson remained kneeling with his hands raised.

"I beg you, Lord Dracula," Jackson said with a small tear in his eye, "please just make it quick."

Dracula's eyes turned deep crimson. He began to look into the very being of the bird and understood his hatred of humans. Gustav had killed his sister when they were both children. In the end, Dracula couldn't fault Jackson for his hatred, as he had tried to hate Freddy at first, but quickly learned that the sins of the father could not be held over the son. The fairest thing that he could do would be to give Jackson an opportunity to see the new way; the coexistence of human and monster that before a decade ago could only be dreamed of, but now had become reality. If he'd be willing to learn, he'd be welcomed openly to their side.


	42. Always Knew

**AN:** Hello again everyone. I know it's been about a year since my last update. I've been busy with a bunch of other projects. Rest assured that there is more to come but I have no real timetable of how often.

I haven't had a chance to see HT3 yet but all the trailers looked like Johnny was still human. Damn Genndy, what gives? Everyone wants to see vampire Johnny already. Oh well, that's my rant. Enjoy this chapter that's kind of all over the place. Please let me know what you guys think.

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Chapter 42  
Always Knew

Mavis and Jonathan were sitting on the roof, the bright red sky of an upcoming sunrise eerily beautiful. They sat just watching Connor and Dennis chasing each other. They just smiled knowing that Dennis had found his best friend in Connor. While both of them were almost certain that Dennis and Winnie would zing one day, neither of them were in a hurry for Dennis to grow up. They just wanted him happy, knowing that one day that would include Winnie. But for now, the two boys could just be boys. That left Jonathan with another question; who would Connor zing with? It was fun to think about, but in the meantime, there was nothing better than watching the kids simply being kids.

"What are you thinking about?" Mavis asked to Jonathan.

Jonathan thought about it for a few moments. He debated telling her the truth, which probably would have been kind of disjointed since there were several things on his mind, from the two of their futures to Jenna's soon to be kids. In the end, he decided on something that might involve both of them someday. "Something that your dad said," was his answer, while trying not to get Dracula in any more trouble than he surely was. Shessomaru would surely be mad enough by their creating two new vampires without first consulting him. But then another thought rang through his head. He really needed to get registered with the monster world since he was now really a part of it.

"What was it this time?" Mavis asked with a sigh, sounding really annoyed. Her father had been the cause of a lot of contention between Mavis and Jonathan's family, but in the end, she couldn't hate him for it. And regardless, everything had worked out far better than she could have ever imagined.

"Drac always seemed to know that we'd get here someday; both of us being vampires, I mean." Mavis frowned at his line of thought, but Jonathan thought that ignoring it further would be bad for both of them. Dracula had said that one day Samantha might have to turn Brett into a full vampire in order to keep him as long as possible, so Jonathan thought that Mavis might have to do the same to him too. "I don't mean to upset you but why didn't you tell me?"

Again another minute passed as she looked up at Dennis and Connor playing in the early evening, both of the boys laughing from their game. Why had she dreaded this? There was only one possible reason for her apprehension but she had seen in the last few months that it had been silly. She should have listened to her dad all along. "Because I fell in love with Jonathan the human and was scared that Count Johnny might not be the same silly guy I love," she said with a nervous chuckle, despite the frown on her face.

"And?" Jonathan said with his own silly grin on his face, wrapping his left arm around Mavis, pulling her into his chest.

Jonathan's true intention for hugging Mavis had worked and she smiled again; her most genuine and confident smile. Her fears truly had been silly and she really should have known better. She had seen in the past couple of weeks that Ivan wasn't negatively affected by becoming a vampire and knew that Freddy and Sam wouldn't be altered all that much either. Surely Jonathan would have been the exact same silly guy that she fell in love with. "And I wished that I had done this sooner; turned you myself I mean. I love you this way just as much. Maybe even a little bit more."

Jonathan's smile was wider, full of joy. "When the time comes, if you need to would you make me full," he said planting his lips gently on Mavis's forehead, his left fang accidentally scraping her forehead which sent a huge wave of passion through her. "Make me a full vampire I mean, if I you need to."

Now it was Mavis's turn as she planted her lips on his, neither of them yielding the way Jonathan's human lips had to hers in the past. This kissing was so different than before a few months ago, but yet so right. There was only one way to make this night any better, and one thing was needed for that.

When the two of them separated, Mavis noticed some slight changes to Jonathan's body from the last few months. They were incredibly subtle, which would have never been detected by human eyes but she knew he was still aging faster than even Dennis was in the past year. But now, Mavis was confident. She knew that she was ready; ready to claim him in a way that would truly make him hers forever.

Mavis had asked Jacob about trying to convert Jonathan into a full vampire just after the fight with Gustav. He told her that he suspected that it wasn't as difficult or dangerous as when trying to convert a pure human. She would just have to inject him with enough venom to transition the last of the human elements out of him, but everything that he told her was pure speculation. Jacob had kept close tabs on all of his descendants, even Linda's children from behind the scenes. In fact, before Brett found his hidden birthright on his own, it had been more than four generations since the last hybrid had been awoken, and that wasn't a direct antecedent of Linda. Those awoken in the past, four in total and all girls before, were all killed by angry human mobs. The last was just after the turn of the last century, when monsters were still hunted by some humans. Jacob always assumed that they were killed by monster hunters, possibly even associated with the Van Helsings. And he couldn't help but to think of the way the Van Helsing hunters ended; Gustav being killed by his own bloodline, the side who allowed themselves to see the true nature of monster kind. And now his own bloodline would be linked to theirs even more so with the soon to be nuptials of his sister and Freddy.

As Mavis was pulled out of thoughts, Jonathan pulled his phone out and pressed some buttons. Within a few seconds, his mother was on the roof to watch the boys. A knowing smile came from Linda who whispered barely audible to both of them, "Have a good time." She wasn't exactly sure what the two of them intended to do, but was more than happy to watch the boys while they did whatever they wanted to do.

Jonathan jumped up and changed into his red-headed bat self mid leap and grabbed Mavis by the collar of her dress with his talons, flying the two of them into their bedroom setting her gently on the bed, much like Mavis had done a few times with him. It was something he hadn't done yet, but longed to. A way to show Mavis exactly how much he enjoyed this new, but completely awesome life. He transformed back into his humanoid self and was on top of her, the two of them happier than they had ever been before, save maybe twice: their wedding night and at Dennis's birth. The two of them knowing that they had forever and it was going to be incredible. But Mavis had other plans on this night.

Dracula had told her what he suspected she would have to do and it was the same as Jacob had said; just bite him. Let her venom flow into his system and that should be enough. Quickly, she turned over on Jonathan so that he was lying back down on the mattress as Mavis's knees straddled his hips. She kissed him all over his upper body, from his lips, cheeks, eyes, and then down to his neck working down to his chest, stopping with the spot of Jonathan's heart gently kissing there for a minute. A vampire's heart beat considerably slower than a human's, even the pace of Jonathan's was now was much faster than Mavis's own heart rate, and Mavis would miss it's assuring rhythm but there was nothing more than she wanted than Jonathan for eternity or however long they would have together. With the end of not only the monster hunters but also the monsters who hated humans, she suspected that it would be much longer than either of them could even imagine.

"Okay," Mavis whispered into Jonathan's ear, returning to his head.

A shuttered moan came from Jonathan expecting them to begin their intimacy, but that wasn't going to happen tonight; no tonight would be something much more meaningful than just making love. Mavis would make the commitment to keep Jonathan forever, sharing a piece of herself with him.

"Okay?" Jonathan asked. He almost panicked wondering what Mavis was going to do.

"I'm ready," Mavis said as she playfully nibbled on his ear. "You trust me, right?"

"You know it," Jonathan said with a wide smile, still unsure what she was about to do to him. "I love you Mavy."

"Me too. This is probably gonna hurt a little, but here goes."

Another moan from Jonathan as Mavis slowly began kissing the left side of his neck, gently massaging it with her tongue before, after a moment, she gently bit him. A slight flinch and then a yelp came from Jonathan at the entry of her fangs, but he still felt absolutely blissful. Mavis wondered if he knew what she was doing or not. During the few minutes her fangs were in his neck, she continued to lick his neck which still made Jonathan moan. She wasn't sure if it was pain or pleasure but she continued knowing that to not inject enough venom could make the conversion long and arduous. And then it was over; Mavis pulled her fangs out, and licked over the wounds to seal them. He would be forever marked as not only a bitten vampire, but one that belonged to Mavis. Something that he was all too willing for. Jonathan never lost consciousness from the change, since he had already gone through the most in depth parts of the transformation before. This change was just a matter of making him completely vampiric, so he would be bound to Mavis for eternity; something he already felt. That and also making sure that the two lived similar life spans.

Mavis watched his eyes turn deep crimson for just a split second, but then he blinked twice and they returned to his normal and familiar brown. Mavis was incredibly relieved since it looked like nothing would change with him. He was still going to be the exact same he was before. Granted in the last few years Jonathan's slacker ways had changed a little and he had grown up some, mostly from the birth and growth of Dennis, but all of those changes were minor compared to what he had gained in the past few months; a sense of an even deeper belonging to Mavis. It reminded her of something Mike had told her on a few occasions; that people tend to grow up slowly, then suddenly.

Barely five minutes had passed before Jonathan slowly sat up, looking at the world through even clearer eyes. While his eyesight had improved in the aftermath of his vampire blood awakening, nothing could have prepared him for how clear his vision was now. He no longer needed his contacts after finding his hidden powers, but now it was as if he had never really seen before; like he was wearing a set of glasses that was the completely wrong prescription but now his prescription was absolutely perfect. Looking at Mavis, through his strong new eyes, he could see everything about her that made him love her, even if he couldn't yet read her mind. Her essence had a powerful blue glow to it and he could see how truly good that she was.

Quickly Jonathan sprung up from the bed and ran to the bathroom. He stared at the mirror for almost two minutes in awe of the fact that now he saw absolutely nothing. Mavis joined him in his arms as the two could only smile at how much alike the two of them were now.

"Ohh," Mavis gasped as her hand went to her stomach. She could have sworn that something moves inside of her abdomen.

"Something wrong, beautiful?" Jonathan asked as he held both of her hands in his.

"I think we might have gotten carried away a couple weeks ago," she said with a large smile on her face as she led his right hand down to her stomach. "I'm not sure, but I think I might be pregnant again.

Jonathan smiled widely before he yelped in pain. "Dammit! Man, I'm gonna have to get used to these things," as he tasted his own blood coming from his tongue.

Mavis looked at his now even longer and more defined fangs. They reminded her a lot of her dad's fangs, if still a little smaller but they had definitely gotten bigger in the few minutes since Mavis had injected some of her venom into him. His heart rate had slowed considerably as well. The two of them were now absolutely identical. But nonetheless, Mavis still thought it prudent to head to the infirmary to have her suspicions confirmed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Margaret had come up to the roof and couldn't help but see how beautiful perfectly everything had turned out, even if she would have to wait a little bit to see how her brother's transformation would turn out. She sat on the side of the roof, with the early morning sun beginning to rise above the horizon although the mountains still would provide protection for her for another half hour or so.

The two sat almost in silence for five minutes before Linda finally asked, "Something on your mind, dear?"

Looking into her eyes, Margaret couldn't help but smile back. "It's kind of amazing, isn't it?" She answered looking still into the first rays of the rising sun. "How easy it's become for humans and monsters to be friends. Since I was in my early thirties, I would always dream about it but never thought I'd live long enough for this. You know, to see a hotel full of humans and monsters who are great friends."

Linda smiled back again welcomingly. "You know, the first time I met Mavis I kind of freaked out. But it was because I buried Jacob away so far in my memories that I wanted to forget that any of this was real. I wanted to believe that monsters were simply make believe but I knew better." It was something that Linda never admitted to anyone, not even Dracula but she knew this was something she finally had to admit; not only to Margaret and Dracula but, more importantly herself.

"Even with Brett?" Margaret asked sympathetically.

Linda had to think about it for a minute, but noticed the sound of Margaret's skin starting to sizzle as the first sun rays of the morning began to strike her skin. "Oh, I'm sorry," Linda said as she turned to the boys. "Connor, Dennis! Time to go inside."

The two bats flying had not yet been affected by the sun and a collective "Aw, Gramma," was said by both of them but they relented and flew inside the open window as did Linda while Margaret turned into her indigo mist form and snuck inside limiting her sun exposure.

"Now where were we," Linda thought as they reconvened in their human forms in the hallway, "oh yeah." Linda frowned, as this was something she never wanted to really think about; what would her reaction to learning that Brett had been awoken and everything she had tried to hide about her ancestry had revealed itself. "I guess it would of made me deal with it earlier."

Margaret looked sympathetically at Linda. One thing above everything else bothered her about Linda. "But why did you try to hide your legacy?"

"Long story," Linda answered not really wanting to talk about it. With the way everything ended up working out, this was something she was going to have to come to terms with eventually, but really didn't want to today. But Margaret was not going to let things go and Linda was smart enough to realize that. "Part of it was the fact that Mike is related to the van Helsings, that's true. But the thing was that after I grew past my childhood, I always thought it was just a silly legend from my family, a lot like the werewolf lore in _Twilight_ with those Indians."

"You never met him?" Margaret asked, beginning to understand.

"Once when I was a really little girl, like maybe six or seven." Linda thought for a moment and accepted the reasons things transpired the way they did. "He never showed me that it was real."

"Huh?"

"Had Jacob turned into a bat or something like that, I probably would have accepted the story a lot quicker, but he just had said what he was. And then when I learned the truth about Mike, how he was related to the van Helsings, it seemed like a better idea just to let it go." Linda laughed as she realized something that she should have a long time ago. "Mike's always been better at accepting things than me. I'm sure he would of dealt with it."

The two continued to make small talk as they still watched Connor and Dennis fly around, just now inside the gym of the hotel.

* * *

The infirmary seemed to have more going on than the rest of the hotel combined. Between Jenna due to give birth at any time and the two soon to be vampires' awakenings imminent, many of the monsters were almost compelled to see for themselves. Almost all of the Drac Pack were consistently around Jenna, hoping there would be no complications with the birth, but a half werewolf child hadn't been born in the history of any of their memories, while no one was certain of what would Jenna experience in the birth. The doctor was was prepared for everything, including an emergency cesarian section if needed.

"How is she?" Wanda asked to Jekyll, knowing fully well what was about to happen.

"She's just going into labor but I have no idea how long before she'll give birth."

"Is she dilated?"

A shrug came from the doctor. "Two centimeters. Fully dilated in a human is about ten. Wilbur and Winnie are in there with her, and Linda asked to be called when she's about to deliver."

Wanda gave a gentle hug to the doctor and went to find Wayne. Of course he was in the lounge again, trying to find some time away from his kids which, as he knew all too well was not gonna happen. She entered the room wearing an 'I know something you don't' look, which made Wayne look panicked again.

"Holy Rabies; you're not pregnant again are you?" Wayne all but screamed out in horror.

A guilty smile crossed Wanda, but she shook her head. "Nope. Were about to be grandparents."

Wayne let out a relieved sigh, as he wiped his brow. "I guess we should go wait down there, huh?"

"Probably a good idea," Wanda answered, but then turned her attention to their kids, "but what about them?"

Wayne shrugged trying to think of a good way to occupy the werepups for a few hours, but Wanda beat him to it. She pulled a few old tennis balls out and threw them around.

Jenna had been prepped by the midwife, one of the witches named Helga, for the birth. She was resting relatively comfortably despite the erratic contractions that were beginning. But still, Jenna simply laid in the bed watching MTV, Monster Television.

Wanda returned just before daybreak to check on Jenna one more time before going to bed. Jenna had an absolute glow to her; she was just so happy. The two were a lot alike, both not realizing how much they wanted a family before their first child, or in Wanda's case children, were born. It was sure to be difficult, Jenna and Wilbur raising a family when they were both so young but the two did love each other deeply. Both sides of the family was certain that everything would work out.

There had been a pool amongst many of Mavis's extended family on exactly what kind of monster/human hybrid would be born and even how many. The birth of such a child was something that all of them were unaware of and no one was completely certain of exactly what would be created. But they all knew that the child would be loved and adored just like Dennis was.

* * *

Mike and Dracula had accompanied Sesshomaru to the capital of monsters, which was still hidden in Siberia. Dracula had insisted that the patriarch of the family needed to register his family.

"So how's this work?" Mike asked to the bureaucrat he was standing in front of.

"Fill out these forms," the gigantic fly said sounding completely bored.

Mike and Dracula took the stack of paperwork and sat at a large table. As Mike started to fill the first page out, he looked again at the absolute brick he was handed and couldn't help but laugh. It seemed kind of funny that the monster world was very similar to the human one. Paperwork was just a matter of life.

Mike slowly filled out the first page of the stack of paperwork that was given to him. It all seemed fairly routine; name, birthdate, sex, species. But the eight question stopped him. "Source of monstrosity?" He asked after reading the question for the third time.

Dracula, who had sat across the table from Mike just in case he had any questions smiled. "How did you become a monster," he said with a wink. "For you, possessed by Vladislav Dracula the Third." Mike just sat there looking at Dracula with a raised eyebrow. "Write it down. Possessed by Vladislav Dracula the Third."

Mike's pen began scratching against the paper again. He chuckled at the answer but began writing, and then filling out his children's information.

"For the rest of your family, their species are dhampirs their monster origin is 'awoken form the bloodline of Jacob Habsburg'," Dracula added seeing that Mike was getting stumped with some of the questions.

Mike had been working on the paperwork for a little while when he turned his gaze back to his friend. "Hey Drac?"

"Yes Michael?"

"Well, it's just… shouldn't Jacob have come with?"

Dracula thought for a few minutes before saying, "Lord Shessomaru asked me to accompany you. But you're right. Jacob probably should have come with."

Almost as drawn by his name, Sesshomaru came from a room carrying a large envelope. "Don't worry about all of that," he said as he laid the envelope on the table in front of him. "Welcome to our world."

Mike opened the packet to see new ID's for all of the family who were older.

"I don't get it," Mike said not sure how this was all done so fast.

Dracula smiled, ready to explain everything. "Jacob took care of all of this after the fight with Gustav. He just didn't want to surprise you with everything, especially since my father was still a member of the parliament."

"Whose seat now belongs to you, if you wish," added Shesshomaru, "but I have a feeling that you are going to caucus with the Integrationists which means that my coalition is now truly a minority."

"You're taking this awfully well for someone who had been groomed for this position for almost a century," Dracula said with a slight laugh.

"In honesty, I'm glad to be rid of the responsibility. I'd been ready to retire for decades but seeing the path we had been on since Mavis and Jonathan both convinced us of the readiness of both sides to meet, I knew that I was one of the few whom my caucus would trust."

Walking up to the table where Mike sat, was a new monster. One he was not familiar with personally but recognized enough from Ancient Greek mythology. With her snake filled hair, it was easy enough to see that she was related to Medusa, if her personally.

The gorgon curtsied gracefully as she introduced herself. "My lord," she said to Dracula with a smile on her face, "it is beyond great to see you again."

"Hello Methusa," Dracula answered in as formal of tone as he could muster. "How goes our side?"

She looked at Shesshomaru and smiled. "Wonderful news I take it?"

"You could say that. It seems that my father's spirit has possessed Michael here and he is ready to reclaim his seat."

"I am?" Mike asked concerned.

Dracula smiled again. "I think he is, at least."


End file.
